The Truth About Mai
by Celestial Star12
Summary: Six months after Gene's burial,Naru returns to Japan.Mai is being haunted by an unknown entity,and lately,cases have been related to her past,and why she never talks about it.Will Naru realize his feelings or will he be too late. Please check out my poll regarding the next side-story. I will close it after I publish chapter 19. Chapter 14 updated! D
1. Chapter 1: The Narcissist Returns

**Author: Hello readers! I would like to warn you in advance that this is my FIRST ever fanfic although the idea have been running through my brain for months and I just couldn't get this story organized…well I already did halfway though. I hope you will be interested in reading thisbecause I morbidly curious on how I will write this out. Enjoy!**

**Oh! BTW~ I made a very important change about Mai's past here. I made her into an orphan younger than the manga/anime so that it would fit my story. Thank you and please REVIEW! (^_^)/.**

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Chapter 1: The Narcissist Returns

A familiar guy with raven hair and cerulean eyes woke up from the inconveniences of sitting in the plane for hours. He pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly adjusted his eyes to the light coming from the window beside him. Once he regained control over his eyelids he glanced at the window only to see the nostalgic archipelago underneath him.

"Noll, you're awake"

Oliver Davis turned to the Chinese man beside him wearing his usual white long sleeves with black necktie and slacks.

"Lin, how long was I out?" he asked. The Chinese man raised his eyebrow as if he was asking _"does it matter?"_ or so but just glanced at his silver watch and estimated.

"3 hours and 37 min I assume…" he replied

Beep

"Passengers, you are reminded to please fasten your seatbelts and straighten your chairs as we are about to land. Thank you."

Beep

"After we get off the plane, check out our belongings and head to SPR immediately." Lin nodded at his young boss.

It has been six months since Gene's body was found and they returned to England. The main branch in England allowed Noll to keep the branch in Japan after it had such a rather smooth business and interesting cases thinking it would be a waste to close it down. Although they need a new CEO for that branch they couldn't find the appropriate person to be in charge of the office so two months after Gene's burial the Society of Paranormal Research in England decided to let Noll manage the branch in Japan(Although Naru's mother was secretly plotting this though). I took a lot of time to fix all the legal documents though that's why it took them four months after the promotion to return to Japan. After Lin checked out all their belongings and was ready to go, they took a taxi and headed to Shibuya.

Lin took out his laptop and started tapping on the keyboard to kill some time before they reach the building. Naru had face rest on his hand while staring at window. He's been more quiet than usual, more bossy than usual (although he isn't affected with it), more stresses and not so patient and the worst...his tongue is more…sharp than usual ever since they returned to England. Also he was shocked that Naru, who can drink 10 cups of tea, stopped drinking when they got home. No matter what tea he was offered, he refused to drink it. '_Could it possibly because of…'_ he stopped typing and took a quick gaze at the young man beside him, still staring at the window. Lin let out a sigh. _'He looks restless…his fingers had been tapping endlessly in his knees ever since he sat there. Is he perhaps….excited?' _he eyed on the teenager again, still no changes.

It was still dawn when they arrived at the building. Naru took his spare key from his black slacks and slid it into the keyhole. When he entered the building his icy expression turned warm seeing nothing had changed since the last time he entered it. Little did he know that Lin was watching him from behind as he unconsciously (or not) touch the desk where the energetic brunette sat. Well, before Naru would catch him looking at his sentimental vibe he went to his office and dropped off his things. Naru on the other hand opened the door to his office and looked around, 'still the same' he thought, and sat on his black leather chair. Somehow, he kind of missed sitting here for some reason. He put his arms on his desk and rested his head. He was tired and his eyelids were starting to betray him again until he completely fell asleep, and somewhere he can hear a voice telling him_…__"Welcome back…Naru"._

Lin stopped typing to check on his wrist watch. _'9:10 am, ah shit! Breakfast…'_ he ran out of his office and went to Naru's only to find him sleeping on his desk. _'He must be tired_ _from that long trip. I guess I should just contact someone to bring us some breakfast…perhaps Mai_ _could.'_ He thought as he dialled Mai's number but it seemed to be out of reach. Just when he was about to call again his cellphone rang.

"Hello, this is Kujou Lin speak-"Lin was cut off by a hyper-active voice.

"Lin! I heard you and Naru are back today instead of next week are you at the office right now…knowing Naru of course the first thing he'll visit will be his what you call 'holy grounds' right…?" the man said.

"I contacted all of you before and confirmed it right? Anyway, I can't seem to reach Taniyama-san. Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, about that, we'll talk about it in the office 'kay?"

"Sure, and could you do me a favour and grab us some breakfast on the way…Naru hasn't eaten anything yet."

Half an hour later, bou-san and the rest of the gang came walking in the office with their lunch of course. But seeing that they couldn't make a peaceful entrance they woke up the sleeping boss.

"What's all the fuss about?" But before he could say anything more Yasuhara got a hold on one of his hand and started his drama. Naru wasn't very happy about this though.

"Oi, don't you dare rub your skin against mine" Naru glared at Yasu ready to take him six-feet below the ground.

"Wow! Everybody's Narcissistic Jerk is really back" he said with a hug. Bou-san also patted his head like some child while Naru is cursing under his breath while trying to escape Yasu's freaky hug. Lin was still fixated on Mai's weird behaviour though. He thought that it may have something to do with Naru. Actually, he witnessed everything that happened between them before they left. He knew that Mai confessed and that Naru rejected her thinking that she was in love with Gene. He was really shocked this time though. He knew Naru was egoistical, bossy, indifferent and dense, but he didn't expect him to be this dense. He let out a sigh and rummaged through the plastic bag with food bought from a fast food restaurant, _'it's better than nothing…'_he thought and turned to bou-san to pay him for the food but then he noticed that all of them were here except for Mai even though it's a Sunday.

"Taniyama-san isn't here with you?" Lin asked curiously and all faces dropped. Naru raised an eyebrow knowing something happened.

They all sat down and told them what had been happening after they left while they eat their supposed breakfast at 10:30 in the morning.

"Well you see" monk stated

"Everything was fine after the first few weeks you had left. Mai had been smiling already and she even began to take lessons from Igarashi-sensei concerning parapsychology and she was having fun I could tell from her overexcited face every time she meets with Igarshi-sensei. But then…" monk looked up at the ceiling and let out a big sigh.

"2 months after, she began acting strange. She looks really tired and her smiles had a weak feeling like she's been forcing herself to smile or even pretend she's okay." He said sadly.

"Did she take cases or go with Igarashi-sensei to hunt ghosts?" Naru asked the monk.

"No, in-fact Igarashi-sensei quit hunting ghosts ever since the Urado case and Suzuki-san's death. We did take 3 cases before but nothing major happened, in-fact neither dreams, nor did accidents happen during the case." He replied to the young boss in front of him.

"There were times when I could see her panting so hard all of a sudden." The blond priest said.

"Last time I went to check on Mai and I saw her in the kitchen panting and she was so cold even though the weather was actually good at that time. She said she was fine though and told me not to worry but still…" John sighed.

"She had been calling me to sleep over in her apartment recently you know…" the red-haired miko said.

"She said that she'd been having nightmares and desperately needed some company. I asked her what did she dream about but she forgets it right away. She wasn't lying either because she had the same confused look on my face. This never happened before so I was afraid that maybe some ghost is after her so I have been giving her protective charms and she didn't look possessed and there was no presence of a ghost in her apartment or following her which was confirmed by Masako." She finished and turned to the raven-haired boss who was in deep thought.

"What about you Yasuhara-san?" Naru asked him.

"Hmmmm…" he trailed

"There was time where I ran into her and I saw her crying. I asked her what's wrong but she just tugged my shirt and sobbed in my chest. Oh and of course I hugged her back and gave her some comfort…" he said with a cocky tone like he was actually proud of it.

"What!" monk stood up and pinched Yasu's cheeks real hard.

"Why you little….you've been hitting on my little sister!" he said annoyed while digging his fist on Yasu's head.

"Ow! Don't worry…" Yasu smirked

"Oh yes I would! It's something worth worrying over ya'brat!" he replied

"That's not what I meant" Yasu grabbed bou-san's hands

"You're still my number one Houshou!"

"Eww, cut that out man!" bou-san said in disgust and everyone chuckled except the usual men that is.

"So where's Mai?" Naru asked vaguely.

"She called me yesterday saying she needed to go to her old teacher's house. You know the one who took care of her when her parents died. She said she'll be back today." Ayako said

"Call her and tell her to come to the office." Naru ordered

"Roger that! But more importantly, there's another thing about Mai that we need to discuss" Ayako grinned at the gang.

~Mai's POV

A certain young girl with chocolate hair with matching pair of eyes which are to mention glued to the window of the train. She's dead tired…again, and she doesn't know where the exhaustion came from. Her eyes were nearly drifting to sleep when a vibration from her pocket startled her.

"Hello, Ayako?" she asked

"Mai are you coming home to Shibuya today?"

"Yea, I'm riding a train to Shibuya right now…why?"

"Oh great, call us when you arrive. We'll pick you up."

"Okay" she closed her cellphone and tried hard to stay awake this time. _'Whew, I almost fell asleep on the train' _she muttered.

When she arrived she called Ayako right away and a few minutes later she was shocked that she brought the whole gang with her….THE WHOLE GANG…(except Masako…she had filming somewhere) even Lin and Naru who was supposed to be in England till next week. Her jaw dropped at the big surprise the red haired miko gave her. She knows that she'd…no…that they've been overprotective recently but this is…

"Lin! Naru! You're back?" she asked

"We were able to book a flight earlier…you weren't informed?" Naru glared at Lin who looked back at him with a 'what?' face.

"Eeeh! Why do I feel left out recently…" Mai pouted

"Hmmm…we should probably team up then." Yasu grinned at her and whispered loudly.

"So what do you say…wanna hang-out with me? Wadd'ya say? Bar 21 at 8 pm…Mai-chan" he smirked at Mai causing monk to shot up and drag Yasu to train rails, hoping some random train would run over this guy.

"Mai, where did you go?" Ayako asked.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you Ayako? I'm sorry. My parents' death anniversary is tomorrow so I went back to the house of my former teacher. I told her that I'll be busy this week so I had to visit my parents' grave today instead of tomorrow. She and her family tagged along anyways." She told Ayako with and apologetic look knowing the miko was worried about her.

"Ok, I understand, wait…your parents death anniversary is tomorrow!" she said with wide eyes but not only Ayako, the rest were stunned too…like for a moment everyone froze for seconds.

"Uhhh...but…isn't your birth-"Yasu was about to finish his sentence when monk shut his mouth using his big hands, almost like a slap in his face.

"Uhhh, Mai-chan we…uhmmm…have a case tomorrow. We'll depart in the afternoon, right Naru-bou?" he turned to his blue eyed boss who was raising an eyebrow at him. Monk was already communicating by face with _'play along for chrissake!'_ written all over his face. Naru let out a sigh.

"We'll leave at 6 pm sharp, let's meet at the SPR building, don't be late" Naru eyed at his assistant. Mai was about to protest when Naru glared daggers at her and instead shut her mouth.

Lin and Naru let Mai ride the car with them her way home since it was getting late. Mai got off the car when they arrived at the building where Mai's apartment is located.

"Are you sure here is fine?" Naru asked poking from his open window.

"Yeah, thanks a lot for giving me a ride Naru, you too Lin. I'll be going now, goodnight to both of you. Oh and I forgot to tell you, welcome back." Mai said as she flashed her brightest smile. Naru looked at her, thinking about the things that were happening to her while he was gone. Lin was tapping his finger on the steering wheel waiting for Naru to make his move. But since it looked hopeless for that to happen, he did it for him instead.

"Naru why don't you escort Taniyama-san to her apartment." Lin suggested but before Naru could react, Mai spoke first.

"Ah no, it's okay, no need to bother." She protested. Naru shrugged.

"No! Lin's right, considering what's been happening to you it's better to be safe than sorry." Naru grunted.

"A…Ayako told you? But it's no big deal na-"she was cut off when Naru got off the car and grabbed her hand. Behind their backs, Lin's lips were already forming a smile. _'Geez, I knew he was worried, yet, why didn't he ask her himself?'_ Lin mumbled and let out a deep sigh.

When both of them arrived at Mai's doorstep, Mai slid the key in its place and unlocked the door. He turned to the young man leaning on the wall just beside her door.

"Uhmmm…thank you Naru for walking me here" she smiled as those cerulean eyes looked straight into hers. She quickly avoided it though hiding the pink color surfacing from her cheeks at the same time. She hadn't seen those eyes for some time now, and the felling of it looking straight at you made her hot.

"Mai, don't hesitate to call when something happens" he told her. His face was as gentle as his voice, for the first time ever he looked so kind and his face had this heart-warming expression. She couldn't help but recall the feelings that once gave in to the same person standing in front of her. When she was rejected by Naru because he thought that she fell in love with his dead twin brother, she reflected on it so hard. She didn't know it wasn't Naru but Gene, his twin and yet no matter how much they look alike, they were still different. Gene is Gene, Naru is Naru. She wasn't mistaken at all. She really did love him, even until now.

"Mai, I'm going back. Lin's waiting for me" he shrugged. The way she was looking at him was making his pulse race. Her muddy-brown eyes were intensely locked at him. He noticed that her hair grew longer and almost reaching her pale shoulders. Her cheeks contrasted a pink glow from her white, creamy skin. His eyes trailed a little more until it reached her slightly parted lips, this was driving him mad. He gave her a nod telling her that he was leaving. He turned around and started to walk when petite hands tugged his shirt.

"Mai?" he glanced at her over his shoulders. Mai walked closer to him and rested her forehead on his arm.

"Naru" she paused for a little while

"I'm glad your back"

"Mai? What's wrong?" he lowered his glance only to see a trail of tears run down her cheek.

"It's nothing, I just feel happy that at least one person I love came back to me" she said wiping the tears of her cheeks. She looked up and smiled at the raven haired teenager and walked to her apartment and closed the door. When Naru got inside the car he earned a curious face from Lin but he ignored him. His mind was still in the state of aftershock. _'What was that earlier? Mai…person she loves…me?' _he thought. He still couldn't convince his brain to accept her confessions. _'No, Mai_ _loves Gene, not me. Get a grip Noll.'_ He thought, mentally slapping his brain back into reality. Recently, he kinda felt the urge to hit Gene ever since he went home to England. He didn't hate him though, why would he? But this time, he did, a little. _'Stupid Gene, you had all the girls when you were alive, I was grateful though, but this, why her?' _he muttered to himself. Lin noticed the bad aura he was emitting._ 'Did something happen? sighMan, I have to deal with his bad mood again'_ with that he let out a sigh and started the engine.

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**A/N: so what do you think? This chapter doesn't have much of the thrill yet since I had to explain everything first so that you could all understand and go with the flow of the story later on. I hope you'll continue reading and more importantly please REVIEW and EVALUATE my work. I want to provide you with better chapters. Thank you everyone.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Best Yet Worst Birthday

**A/N: First of all, I want to thank you for all those who reviewed. I was really happy since this is my first fanfic (I even had a nightmare wherein my story got left in the dark…totally ignored). And that's why it really motivated me to update faster and make my story even better to meet your expectations. Oh and by the way, please don't hesitate to point out my mistakes [like *naruislikeaboss*(thanks btw, I'll work on my grammar XD)], I really want to improve my story (^^)/. Anyways, here's chapter 2, ENJOY!**

**Oh, and I forgot my disclaimer on the first chapter so…**

**I DO NOT OWN GHOST HUNT! IF I DID , I WOULDN'T BE HERE RIGHT NOW XD**

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**Chapter 2: The Best Yet The Worst Birthday Ever (Part 1)**

Mai got dressed one hour earlier before the assembly time fearing her young boss' death glares and painful tongue-lashings. She didn't want to be late on her first case with Naru after he returned from England. She wore her red checkered skirt and her gray turtleneck along with black knee-length socks and dark brown leather boots in case she needs to…run…in this case. At exactly 5:30 they called her saying that they'll pick her up at her apartment. When they arrived, they told her that the others went on ahead; she almost thought it was because of her tardiness but Lin cleared it though.

"Uhhh, Naru?" she slyly asked her silent boss sitting still in the front seat reading a stack of papers neatly organized in a white folder. _'What a workaholic…'_ Mai told herself.

"If you're just gonna ask something useless Mai, its best that you just shut up." He simply replied. Lin glared at him though; Naru noticed this immediately and just looked back at him with 'what?' written all over his face. '_Oh god, does he ever know the meaning of politeness?'_ Lin sighed in defeat. Mai didn't say a word after what Naru said, she thinks its better that way before she gets any more of Naru's tongue. When they arrived at the "site" Mai was definitely surprised. It was a beautiful garden full of flowers, their fragrance filled the air and petals were scattered on the ground making a small path. After she followed where the petals lead her eyes went wide. The whole gang was there, lined up on the way to the pavilion each holding some candles.

"Wha…guys…" everyone was grinning at her. They can tell she was speechless and they were proud of it. Masako stood in front of her holding a cupcake with little pink candle on top of it.

"Happy birthday Mai" she told her with a soft smile. Mai was astounded at the sincerity she was showing.

"You know, I don't hate you…I just don't like you Mai." She grinned at her and Mai smiled back.

"Thank you Masako and I'll put that in mind" she said and blew the candle on top. Next in line she saw Ayako with both of her hands occupied with cupcakes like Masako.

"Happy birthday Mai!" Ayako smiled warmly. And Mai giggled

"Thank you Ayako" she replied. "Hope you'll have more birthdays to come" Ayako said while Mai blew the candles.

Mai continued to follow the little embers and on the saw bou-san sitting in Indian-style with 3 candles. Two on both hands and one was on his head. Mai laughed at his hilarious state while bou-san was watching her with a big smile on his face.

"Mai hurry up before this thing falls." He said while maintaining the cupcake still on top of his head.

"Bou-san, you look like a Buddha!" Mai laughed as she blew the candles one by one and took the cupcake on his head and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Thank you bou-san" She said and gave him a peck on the cheek. The monk grinned at her and replied. "No problem little sis…"

And this time, she almost wanted to roll on the floor laughing when she was Yasuhara kneeling on the grass with cupcakes on both hands, one on his head and the extra was on his mouth, not to mention the candle sticking out of his mouth.

"Otanjoubi-ommedetto Mai!" he said with difficulty since a piece of chocolate cupcake was obstructing his mouth. Mai laughed hard again and blew the candles one by one. When she had to blow the candle on his mouth she raised an eyebrow at him. Yasu raised one back at her and she smiled and blew the candle.

"Hey! That seemed like a flying kiss" Yasu said, with the cupcake still on his mouth. Monk was watching them and a nerve was clearly surfacing on his head. "Why you little…" monk said in annoyance, he clearly wasn't happy about Yasu's antics.

"Wanna help me eat this cake…Mai-chan?" Yasu said vaguely pointing at the cupcake in his mouth, but this time monk was already charging him.

"Hey! That's going too far!" monk screamed and Ayako quickly grabbed his hood and restrained him before he ripped Yasu's flesh into shreds. Mai chuckled at the commotion they were causing and quickly bent down to kiss Yasu's forehead. Monk's eyes nearly fell to ground, Ayako laughed and Masako covered her hand with her mouth.

"Thanks Yasu but I think you didn't want to share the cupcake in the first place since it's all in your mouth you know." She grinned at him.

"Hmmm, I'll make sure to leave half out next time then" he said while chewing the cupcake and monk dug his fist on Yasu's head. She watched monk abuse Yasu until Ayako motioned her to go on. On her way, she stopped and thought what Lin and Naru might be doing and slightly chuckled. When she arrived at the next stop, Lin was holding a tray with one hand, 5 cupcakes with candles were neatly lined on the tray. Mai chuckled, he looks like a butler. Lin raised his eyebrow at her with a small smile in his face, he lowered the tray to Mai's reached and she blew all of them in one huff. Lin looked at the birthday girl and smiled warmly at her, he handed her a red rose which he was holding on his free hand. Mai blushed and Lin chuckled.

"Happy birthday Mai" Lin said, Mai just nodded hiding her blush. She never expected Lin to be this gentle, but then she realized that Lin had always surprised her in many ways, like him being a diviner, the fact he had shikis and the time wherein she knew he could actually laugh…a little.

"You should go now, Noll's waiting for you. You do know how impatient he is right?" Lin stated with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess I should do that before I receive more of his bad manners. Thank you so much Lin." She smiled back at him and Lin laughed at her first statement. "You're welcome" then Lin guided her.

The green were swaying in the evening breeze and besides the few lamps their only source of light was the stars and the big round moon. Today was a new moon and considering its name, Mai was feeling good about it and it made her think that this birthday is just the start of the best. Mai's eyes went wide; she probably couldn't take any more surprises for this day. There was a huge pavilion waiting for her and there were little glowing things floating around it. It made her remember one of the dreams she had with Gene but what's more surprising is that Naru was waiting for her with a bouquet of roses on his hand and a 3 layered cake beside him with a candle forming 16 was lit on the center.

"Happy 16th birthday Mai!" the gang shouted who was already around the cake, waving the cupcakes they were holding a while ago. Mai couldn't take it anymore and cried. Ayako and bou-san quickly went to her side and started rubbing her back. It was the best birthday she had.

"Guys, you really shouldn't have made it this big if you're just going throw a party" she said between her sobs.

"Awww…come on Mai" bou-san said ruffling her chocolate strands.

"We didn't actually plan this far…but after we learned that your parents died on your birthday, we thought you might be depressed. I couldn't even imagine a birthday like that." Ayako said as she continued to rub Mai's back who was still crying. Yasu was pushing Naru closer to Mai who was whistling frantically. He earned a death sentence from Naru as he glared at him, Lin glared back at him, and he won this time. Naru turned to the sobbing birthday girl who had her arms on her face trying to hide her tears. He handed him the bouquet of roses he bought earlier.

_~flashback_

_Naru was walking in circles around his room wondering what to give Mai as a present. He never really did this by himself. Usually Gene was her partner-in-crime if he had to give presents like on their parents' birthday, but Gene was always the one planning and he would simply be dragged into his plans knowing how persistent Gene was when he was still alive, but this time, he thought of giving one himself._

"_Damn it!" he growled "I'm supposed to be a genius! Why can't I think of a simple birthday present" he sighed in disbelief while massaging the bridge of his nose. 'I can't believe presents could be such a headache' he thought as he ran his fingers through his dark strand. When it was almost time to pick Mai up, he panicked since he wasn't able to think of anything. Then he went to the mirror and slammed his hands on his own reflection, he was calling Gene. After Gene's burial, he locked himself in his room, recalling how he lost his twin brother and how he took the first thing he ever wanted. He just stared at his reflection, arm on the table, elbow up and his hand supporting his cheeks thinking about his dead twin when all of a sudden his own reflection talked._

"_Feeling sentimental?" Naru jumped out of his seat, this definitely scared him more than the ghosts he encountered all of his life._

"_Ge…Gene!" Naru's eyes wide and his mouth were slightly open. Gene laughed at his brother's expressions, enjoying every second he looked like that. 'Maybe I should do this more often?' he thought. Ever since that day, Gene would occasionally bug him at work, or say insulting words out of the blue, tease him about the confession Mai did and even physical damage. It was really annoying for Naru, 'they say a dead twin would take your life…' he was starting to believe in that statement._

_But now, he wasn't appearing when he needed him the most._

**"**_**Damn you Gene! Why are you doing this to me! I hate you…you stupid, annoying twin. I bet you're enjoying this huh?"** Naru screamed in English while hitting the mirror. Little did he know that Lin entered his room since he was taking his time and thought it was weird, and saw all of this?_

**"**_**Fuck you Gene! Go die! I mean…go die again!"** he scowled at him and did a final blow on the poor mirror. He turned his head when he heard someone laughing…it was Lin. He flushed and went out of his room and went straight into the car ignoring Lin._

_On their way to Mai's apartment they passed by a flower shop, and since he was desperate._

"_Lin stop the car!" he ordered him._

_~end of flashback_

Naru froze for a moment. He really didn't know what to do in times like these. He pinched the bridge of his nose which he usually does when he gets tensed or irritated. Mai took a quick peek at the young man between her fingers who was giving him roses on her 16th birthday; Naru quickly avoided her gaze automatically hiding his dark cerulean eyes with his raven hair hiding the faint blush surfacing in his cheeks.

"Happy birthday…" Naru said in a weak tone, Mai wiped her tears and smiled back at him. Naru put back his stoic mask, his control is slipping. Mai's red face just after she cried with the matching bright smile everybody loved was cute, even our cold-hearted Naru is melting due to her easy-going and warm personality. Mai took the bouquet of roses and smirked at Naru.

"I didn't know you like keeping surprises…" she said with a playful smile, Lin's lips formed into a small smirk and everybody laughed.

"Eeeh, Naru keeping surprises? I was really worried about that ya'know. I thought I'd never see the light of the day when I told him to keep this party a secret." Yasu told them with arms crossed in his chest.

"Looks like I don't have to worry about that." He grinned at Naru. Naru smirked at them, and it was obvious. The whole gang gasped at the foreign sight they were seeing. But Naru didn't look like he was happy, he looked like he was planning to salvage Yasu later and they were scared.

"Naru stop that! It's freaking me out!" Ayako shouted at him rubbing both of her arms.

"Yeah Naru-bou, If that's the only way you smile, I'd rather not see it." Monk said with a shivering tone. Yasu on the other was awfully quiet for the first time.

"Ahhhh! Ok let's stop this!" Mai groaned. "I should blow this candle right?" Mai said pointing at the 16 shaped candle at the center of the cake. Mai positioned herself as the gang singed the birthday song, except Lin and Naru as usual.

_~Happy birthday to you…~_

Mai inhaled all the air she could get and was about blow it all out when images and visions filled her brain and all the air around her felt cold. She was petrified as the continuous visions, images, voices invaded her head yet she couldn't understand then everything stopped and focused on one scenario. It was really blurred, like watching TV with crappy antenna with all the static sounds and flickering images. And yet she could horribly tell what it is. It was a face of a woman with jet black hair with fresh blood dripping at the edges of her face. Her arms were tightly clasped tightly on her shoulders and she was panting heavily desperately trying to say something but with difficulty of doing so. Mai carefully read her lips and gasped aloud when she found out what she was trying to say.

_"I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through" _

Then Mai's knees weakened as if all the strength has been sucked out. Everyone panicked at her unexplainable behavior, calling out to her.

"Mai! Mai! What happened?" "Are you okay Mai! Ayako do something about this!" "Mai what happened to you! Stay awake Mai! Mai!"

All those voices filled the air yet she couldn't hear it. Arms were shaking her and hands were caressing her face yet she couldn't feel it. Everyone looked like they were panicking yet she couldn't see it. She was awed at what she saw, almost to point of going hysterical at what that woman said at the end of her sentence.

"_Mai"_

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**_A/N: So what do you think? Did i do better this time? Please tell by reviewing. Oh and I really appreciate corrections ^^. Sorry for the cliffhanger, though I did it on purpose. I look forward to your reviews everyone! (^^)/_**

**_*Oh and I personally think that the angry Naru is so cute xD_**

**_~Celestial Star12_**


	3. Chapter 3:The Best Yet Worst Birthday 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for your continuous support. I am really happy that you liked my story and I'll work hard to make it more exciting and prove to you that it's worth taking your time to read it. I also appreciate the people who reviewed my story, thank you so much and rest assured that I'll try hard to meet your expectations. _Please continue to support my story by reviewing it. It forces me to update as soon as I can since I always look forward to your reviews. _Thank you everyone_._**

**_*I also made changes on chapter 2 concerning about the typographical errors I saw. If there's still some that I missed, please don't hesitate to tell me._**

**I do not own ghost hunt, I wish I did though. (-.-)/**

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**Chapter 3: The Best yet the Worst Birthday Ever (Part 2)**

_Mai woke up in a familiar scene she used to be staying six months ago, the astral plane. This is the first after six months. After Gene's body was found, she never saw Gene nor this astral plane after that, but the dreams continue, yet it's somewhat different, the dreams she had been having strike terror into her heart and she can't explain why. She shrugged as she pushed the dreams aside and focused back on the astral plane. It was deep and dark yet tiny orbs of light were floating all over spreading their glow to brighten this place up. She stood up and gently touched one of the orbs with her finger and it glowed even brighter like it was pleased with her touch. She giggled as the orbs encircled her as if they were dancing. Mai was bewildered by the sight, she had never seen the astral plane this beautiful before. It only showed her sinister sights and backgrounds of people or spirits to be precise while they were still alive. The astral plane she was standing now was warm and gentle, like it was giving her a warm hug. She closed her eyes and tried to feel the warmth this place was giving her, smiling as she embraced back the heat she felt by wrapping her arms around herself until she could feel real arms hold her, giving her a sweet hug behind her back._

"_Enjoying it?" it spoke. Mai opened her eyes and gasped at the person she never expected to see._

"_Ge…Gene?" Mai looked directly at those sapphire orbs and the heart-warming smile he always displayed. Gene chuckled in amusement and caressed her face with his mild touch._

"_You just said the exact same thing that idiot scientist said after he found out that I could still contact him." He replied with a soft giggle and Mai smiled back at him and placed her hand on top of his and soothed her cheeks on Gene's nostalgic touch. Gene blushed and quickly lowered his gaze, his bangs did the cover for him._

"_I never thought I'd see you again…" Mai said in a low tone, Gene smiled._

"_I reserved most of my energy for this day. When my body was found I did talk to you for the first time outside the astral realm right?" Gene took her hand for a stroll and Mai followed him while looking at Gene's blue eyes._

"_And after I talked to you, I decided to follow the light like what all spirits do to move on. Then I had this really tranquil feeling inside of me and the next thing I saw was the astral plane." He chuckled "I guess this is where my heart belongs and the place where I can eternally be at ease." He turned to Mai who was listening attentively at him like a good girl. Gene flashed a small smile on his face and brushed her brown bangs to get a clear view of those muddy-brown eyes he loved so much._

"_Will you still be my spirit guide?" Mai said sweetly with an innocent look. He cupped her face with both hands and smiled._

"_I will, but more importantly, I'll be you're the person who'll stay with you whenever you see visions. I'll ease the pain for you Mai…" Gene said softly placing his forehead unto hers._

"_Happy birthday Mai, I'm glad you were born and Im very lucky I met you." He whispered softly._

"_Thank you Gene and I am very lucky to have met you too. If it weren't for you, the SPR would be probably visiting my grave right now." Mai grinned and Gene chuckled._

"_All I did was support you though, well, that's the best I could do."Gene gave a disappointed look. Mai pinched his cheeks all of a sudden and Gene hissed at the pressure being applied on his cheeks._

"_That's enough to keep me alive you humble idiot!" Mai scolded him like a child and Gene laughed at his new title._

"_So I'm the humble idiot while my twin is the narcisstic idiot?"He raised an eyebrow at her. "Fair enough" Mai said putting her arms on her waist when all of a sudden a very good question flew past her._

"_Oh yeah, what brought me here? If I remember correctly…they throwing a party for me and then they made me blow candles. I was about to blow the last one when…." She paused and recalled what happened. A few seconds later, she gasped at the sudden flashback and her balance went off. Luckily, Gene caught her before she could kiss the floor._

"_Mai what's wrong?" Gene asked worried. She stared back at him, and tried to regain her smile._

"_Gene that woman knows me…and for some reason that I don't really know…it's scaring me. It's like, even though I'm deadly curious who she is, I don't really want to know." She said in a low tone, clutching his sleeves even tighter._

"_Why don't you tell them about your dreams?" Gene cupped her face with a' you-know-who' expression so as not to let her question any further._

"_I wasn't lying at Ayako! I do forget about my nightmares right after waking up. After that I fell a lot of eyes spying on me and I was so scared that I called Ayako to sleep with since I can't stomach being alone at that time" she sobbed. Gene caressed her brown strands calming her down._

"_I wasn't implying anything Mai?" he said a little guilty. "And what you said was true, I didn't say that you were lying." Gene told her, Mai sniffed as she wiped the tears trailing down her cheeks._

"_But I do know that you were having nightmares quite often this week, and you didn't call that red haired priestess to sleep with you." He said eyeing the brunette under his arms raising an eyebrow at her. Mai sniffed and just nodded. 'Ow, he got me' she muttered under her breath._

"_Tell them Mai, they won't eat you" he grinned at her. Mai rolled her eyes and sighed._

"_Okay Gene" she told her cunning spirit guide, Gene was almost complete flashing his smile when she added "when I'm ready" she snickered. Gene groaned at his defeat 'clever woman' he thought and Gene's body was nearly fading._

"_Thank you for visiting me on my birthday Gene" she told him, Gene nodded and noticed that his body was transparent. "It's time Mai" he said and Mai nodded. As the scene began to fade she noticed that Gene was still saying something but Mai couldn't figure it out as the wave of gravity pulled her back into her body._

~Naru's POV

After he and Lin dropped Mai of the entrance. They both went to their stations as well, holding unto the bouquet he bought out of desperation he walked all the way to the pavilion without Mai noticing him. He waited for her there feeling this weird tightness in his stomach. He shrugged it off and concentrated at the stone paths that led the way to the pavilion. The new moon was silently watching all of them and fireflies swarmed the garden. He didn't expect fireflies but at least it would make Mai even happier. He loved the way she smiled…_'whoa wait! What?_ _Where did that come from?'_ he thought. Since when did he care so much about Mai, well he DOES care for her since he's her employer and all but what's this about Mai smiling? He groaned and massaged the bridge of his nose. It helps him calm down and bring back his senses. He sighed, how come he even agreed to this anyway? Yeah, they were really, annoyingly, persistent but he could just give him _'the look'_ and carved the word NO into their heads. They even forced him to do the _'line-up-with-candles-then-greet operation'_ with them, Lin hesitated at first but then he gave in and so he was all alone to fight against the four overexcited idiots anticipating his defeat. He also found out that they already had presents for Mai even Lin had one prepared. _'Damn him!' _He scowled; he knew about Mai's birthday all along and didn't even inform him about it. When he asked him about it, Lin just gave him a questioning look and said "I thought it wasn't important since you were so busy and took no interest in these kind of events?" he said with his usual tone and Naru slammed his hand on his forehead.

"Could this day get any worse for me?" Naru growled while waiting for Mai to enter the pavilion. He noticed that there was this weird grip on his stomach too. Naru groaned at his continuous misfortune until he saw the girl he was waiting for walk on the stone paths with Lin guiding her. He also noticed the rose that she was holding and automatically locked his eyes on Lin. He saw his assistant-slash-bodyguard display a mischievous grin which he never did before. _'People are getting on my nerves lately'_ Naru refrained himself from throwing the 3 layered cake at the Chinese man who was still looking at him with _'that smirk'_ on his face. When everybody lined up around the cake and greeted her she suddenly cried. '_Oh great, now what?' _He covered his face with his hand to cover his annoyed expression when Yasu started to push him near Mai. He glared at four-eyes mentally telling him that he'll never see the light of the day. Eventually he noticed Lin glaring at him like he did something even worse than send things flying with his PK. He shrugged and looked at the crying Mai who was trying hard to cover her tears. It's not working though; he could clearly see it and this painful sensation ran all over his body. Not knowing what else to do, Naru handed his _'last resort measures'_ and gently laid down the bouquet of roses. She peeked between her fingers and Naru blushed thinking it was '_cute_' he looked away and was glad that his bangs were covering his face. Mai gladly took the roses; her tears disappeared recovering her heart-warming smile, Naru's weird grip on his stomach faded and was replaced by a relieving feeling and sighed. As the team sang Happy Birthday he was glad to see she was enjoying this. He could understand the feeling of celebrating your birthday without the person important to you, Gene; he would still have nightmares about his death and thinking about their birthday without his other half is…

"Mai what's wrong!" Ayako shouted. He looked at Mai who was completely petrified. _'What's going on'_ he creased his eyebrows and then everybody came rushing when she suddenly fainted. We took her to the car;and sighed at our big problem _'it's going to be a long drive before we can see hospitals'. _This place was near the mountains and it's far from the city_. 'Argh!' _he groaned bursting in irritation.

"Is something wrong?" the man poked out of the black Mercedes which was passing by the highway, he looked like he was in his mid 40's. Ayako explained everything to the man and then he kindly offered help.

"I own a vast rice field not far from here and there's a clinic built there just in case my workers get sick. Why don't you take that young girl there, I'd be happy to help you." He said with a warm smile, Ayako bowed her head thanking the man, so as Takigawa who was freaking out moments ago. He told us to follow his car and moments later we arrived in a vast field of rice and farms, poultries, etc. after we got off the van I took Mai and carried her all the way to the mansion and laid her down on a bed. The old guy called doctors to attend to his 'guest' and just a few minutes passed they were there, treating Mai.

"Thank you for your generosity in bringing us here uhmm…" I trailed

"Mitsuhide Azuma, a pleasure to meet you…" he said reaching out his hand for a handshake, I accepted it remembering how my mother used to bug me about my manners every minute of my life.

"Shibuya Kazuya, this is my assistant Kujou Lin and also the girl that passed out, Taniyama Mai" Naru said as he introduced Lin.

"My other companions are John Brown, Hara Masako, Matsuzaki Ayako, and Yasuhara Osamu."They bowed down as their names were called.

"Thank you so much for helping us Mitsuhide-san" John said. Mitsuhide smiled warmly at his unexpected visitors.

"No problem, it was good I happened to pass by, hospitals are far from this area and that young girl didn't look good." He smiled.

"Yes, we apologize for bringing you trouble." Takigawa told him.

"Oh no, I'm glad to be of help" minutes later, the doctor walked out of Mai's room along with Ayako since she insisted she could be of help. The doctor bowed at the rich guy and then us. 'They treat this guy very well' Naru thought.

"There isn't any problem, besides the stress that's been piling up in her body, she seems very healthy. You don't need to worry about anything." The doctor smiled at us and everybody sighed.

"Stress huh?" Takigawa muttered under his breath.

"Let's leave her to rest then, I've also prepared rooms for you to stay the night in. It is getting late after all." SPR nodded and everybody called it a day.

* * *

Mai could feel the cool breeze caress her porcelain skin. There was also this big yet gentle hands stroking her hair, she finds it relaxing and felt safe as those fingers run down her strands. Later on her sense of hearing overcame the still silence surrounding her not long ago. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times to get a clear vision of what has been happening. She saw Naru right by her side, his dark cerulean eyes showed this occasional tint of sadness and worry. The same eyes that he displayed right after she confessed to him, followed by the most absurd question she encountered all of her life.

_~flashback_

'_Is it me or Gene?' he told her imitating the same smile Gene always showed her, but his eyes remained sullen. She didn't know what to say. She knew all along that Naru could never smile like that, but she never imagined that Naru being an entirely different person. She never knew that her spirit guide has been his dead twin brother and she just couldn't hold back the tears of being that ignorant, though Naru remained emotionless, she knows deep inside he's crying but he couldn't, so he cried for him._

"_I didn't know…" Mai sobbed as she fell to the ground._

_~end of flashback_

'_Damn!'_ Mai shrugged at the image she was imagining, trying to push away the memory of the failed confession she had six months ago that she completely forgot about the man beside her.

"I see you've finally woken up" Naru stood up crossing his arms, scratch the she just thought, his stoic mask was back in its stupid place. "After you blew the 16th candle you just suddenly passed out.

"You passed out" Naru said in a matter-of-factly voice. _'Was he even worried?' _Mai shrugged and noticed that she was in a very comfortable bed with expensive bed sheets and all. She examined the room, red felt wallpapers, paintings hanged on the walls, expensive furniture and _'oh my god' _she gasped at the balcony right before her eyes. The glass door was open explaining the cold breeze that recently crawled on her skin.

"If you're wondering where we are…" He sat on a chair and his and grabbed his book. "We're in a mansion owned by a person named Mitsuhide Azuma, he's an innocent passerby that pitied you when you suddenly passed for an unknown reason." He said in a monotone voice. _'Jerk'_ Mai hissed, _'you don't have to say it that way'_ Naru noticed her fury and smirked. Mai clearly noticed that and got even more pissed '_Ah! So you're enjoying this…_' her mouth twitching, refraining herself from launching an axe kick on Naru's head.

"Did you dream?" Naru asked out of nowhere. Mai nodded.

"I dreamt about a girl with jet black hair and blood was all over her face. She was telling me that she didn't love me and that I should experience the pain that she went through."

"You? How did you know it was you?" he asked, a spark of curiosity lit up in his eyes. _'oh man, it's gonna start'_ she sighed, mentally preparing herself for the horde of questions.

"She knew my name…" she continued, Naru quickly went to his thinking position.

"Did you know anyone who might be mad at you?" Naru asked.

"I don't know…I don't remember making anyone mad to haunt me…" Naru smirked at her statement.

"Then she's probably mad at how you're such a klutz, you probably did something without even knowing it." Mai shot up with blazing eyes.

"Well eat your words you insensitive jerk! You're the one who keeps on blabbing about things without giving a care on how others feel." She shouted at him

"The things that I blab about are always logical Mai" Naru counter-attacked, Mai was left open-mouthed and gritted her teeth.

"You egoistical, stoic, anti-social snob who's too good to make friends with anybody…" Naru raised his brow waiting for what's coming "OH! WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Mai slumped on her bed and grabbed a pillow and covered it on her mouth to stop herself from screaming so loud. Naru chuckled inaudibly.

"Because Mai, I'm handsome" he smirked at her. Mai clutched at the pillow.

"What does that have to do with being in my room!" she hissed

"Because I figured that it would open your eyes right away" his smirk got bigger, Mai growled and threw the pillow at his face.

"Narcisstic jerk! You're face didn't contribute anything for your information!" she was about to throw another pillow when Lin entered the room with a shocked face. _'Naru was thrown a pillow? What is going on….?'_ Lin thought. Naru coughed and brought back his attention.

"What is it Lin?" Lin was about to answer when the rest of the gang invaded Mai's room. And Takigawa quickly swooped Mai into a bear-hug.

"Mai you're awake! Are you okay? Where does it hurt? Did you dream? Was it scary? Everything's okay little sis, I'm here to protect yo-"Ayako gave him a quick blow on his head and Takigawa winced in pain.

"You're going to kill her before you could even protect her dumbass!" the red-haired miko said.

"Well…have you ever heard about a doctor doing the opposite of curing people? You're the only person in that category...HAG!" Ayako charged the monk and the poor priest as usual tried to stop their fight making him the referee of the match.

"Ohhh! I'm going to take a walk!" Mai said quickly marched of the room.

"Oh! Then let's go on a date Mai-chan" Yasuhara said with a mischievous smile.

"Shounen!" monk yelled. But before he could say anything else Mai glared at them. "ALONE!" and stormed out of the house.

* * *

Mai was strolling on the grassy field, the trees were far from the view but the breeze was lovely. The open field was so nice. The soft wind continued to pass and her hair and the ends of her skirt danced along with it.

"Ahhhh, this feels great" she let out a sigh of relief. The silver moon was still present and it glowed like a giant spotlight in the vast field she was standing on. It was still night time, probably about 11:00 or quarter to 12, the breeze was chilly and her outfit seems to be losing to the cold temperature.

"Maybe I should go back now, it's getting cold" she whispered as she rubbed her palms together to create a bit of heat. She turned her hell and started to walk back when she could feel a tight grip on her legs. She froze as the sensation continued to creep up. Pressure kept her legs in place, it's like something was gripping her legs to keep her from moving. Goosebumps attacked her as fear rose, her pulse was racing and her heart was about to burst if it kept pumping so fast.

"Mai!" the voice that sounded like monk called in a distance. And then the weird grip was gone and she was able to move.

"Mai, let's go back. There's something we need to talk about." Mai who was still suffering from aftershock nodded and followed monk obediently. Monk noticed something was off.

"Did something happen?" he asked

"Uhhh..." She trailed when another Ayako shouted. "Hey! Hurry up" Takigawa scratched his head.

"Were going to talk about this later" He commanded her feeling so Big brother but then she didn't mind and just nodded.

* * *

"So can you tell me what's been happening Mitsuhide-san?" Naru began his interrogation and Mai made tea in the kitchen who was escorted by Ayako. She came back with steaming cups of tea and handed it to everyone. Unfortunately, paranormal things have been going around this place, and they heard that Naru is an expert when it comes to these things.

"Well Shibuya-san, for starters, there's this unusual fire that suddenly appears out of nowhere. There were homes that were burned, crops sometimes burn also and drought even though it's winter. A few people got burned that's why I built a clinic since it was becoming frequent. Besides fire, angry voices heard in the middle of the night, screams, flickering lights, banging doors and a child's insane laughter."

"A child?" Naru piqued an interest and Mitsuhide san continued his explanation.

"Yes, were definitely sure it was a child's voice, he also cries sometimes saying 'I didn't do anything wrong' softly and then his voice would go louder and louder until he's screaming. After that it would become awfully silent and then followed by his insane laughter." A chill ran down Mai's spine. She wrapped her arms around her trying to keep herself warm. She was shaking she didn't know if it was because she felt chilly or because she was nervous then suddenly her body felt like it was burning she fell on her knees and everyone's attention turned to her. Ayako quickly bent over to look at the girl and was shocked at what she found out.

"Naru, we need an ice pack and a thermometer, she burning up!" Ayako said frantically and one of the maids quickly reacted to Ayako's orders. Takigawa and Yasuhara helped her up on a couch next to Naru and Mitsuhide-san.

"Is she okay? I thought she was completely fine already." He said with a worried tone.

"Oh that's normal for Mai-chan Mitsuhide-san. One minute she's fine and the next time you see her she's covered in bruises." He said with his usual playful grin.

"OH MY GOD!" Ayako stared in disbelief and everyone's eyes turned to her direction, and were shocked as Ayako was. They saw red marks all over Mai's legs. Ayako's pulled her socks down to reveal more of her legs and gasped. It looked like handprints, and there was a bunch of them. Mai groaned as she panted hard, she started to pen her eyes and saw worrying eyes all over her.

"What's up?" Ayako sighed and pointed at her legs and Mai almost screamed at what she saw.

"Mai you better start explaining" Takigawa said with crossed arms, his index finger continuously tapping on his crossed arms.

"Uhhh, well…I was standing in the field enjoying the breeze and then I felt cold and since I wasn't wearing any jacket I thought that I should go back but then I couldn't move all of a sudden until bou-san called." She stated circling her finger on the ends of her hair. Ayako and monk sighed together.

"Jou-chan…why not just for once hide that magnet of yours that always attracts trouble" he sighed again.

"Unfortunately Takigawa-san" Yasu interfered as he pushed his eyeglass upwards. "Mai couldn't hide the magnet because SHE is the magnet Takigawa-san." He said in matter-of-factly voice. Mai glared at him as she reached for a pillow and threw it at Yasu. Naru coughed seizing their childish performance causing everyone to behave as professionals.

"We will take this case Mitsuhide-san, we will need a base to put our equipment and 2 rooms with beds. Speaking of equipment, we didn't bring any and we need to go back first, we will also grab anything else we need for our stay, we will come back first thing tomorrow is that ok Mitsuhide-san?" Naru asked

"Yes please, and thank you very much for accepting it. Oh and you can use the rooms you stayed in." he told Naru.

"No thank you, I would prefer that my team sleep in groups seeing that some of them are best friends with trouble." He finished his sentence eyeing at Mai who was clearly pouting right now. After they packed up, Mitsuhide escorted them out of the mansion.

Naru drove me home to my apartment the moment we arrived at Shibuya. I was about to get off the car when Lin caught my attention.

"Taniyama-san" Lin called out and Naru turned to the Chinese man. "You should carry this with you just to be safe." Lin handed her a handmade accessory with symbols written in it. It was really pretty. Mai blushed at thte thought of Lin giving her a necklace that was made by himself…'I think'.

"It's a warding charm…think of it as a birthday present" Lin gave her a small but evident smile, Mai blushed and bowed as a reflex action.

"Uhhh, thank you Lin, it's very pretty." Mai said still blushing. "No problem" Lin replied. Naru got off the car and gripped Mai's arm as he walked to the building.

"Let's go" Naru said coldly. Mai was about to say something when he glared daggers at her and she thought it would be best to shut up. when they reached her door. It had the same scenario as yesterday. naru leaning on the wall beside her door as she slid her key and unlocked her door. Except that she went inside right away this time not looking at him.

"Mai" he said stopping the door from closing with his hand. She looked up at her boss.

"Call me if anything happens ok?" he asked in a monotone voice, she just nodded and he turned his heel and walked away. She was about to close her door for the second time until naru stopped it again.

"Happy birthday Mai" and then he disappeared for good this time.

* * *

That night, Mai dreamed about two children walking hand in hand with bright smiles painted on their faces. When she woke up, she didn't know why tears suddenly streamed down her face. Naru picked her up at 6:00 in the morning since they have a long drive to go. When they arrived they were warmly welcomed by the residents and Mitsuhide-san personally.

"It's nice to see that all of you have arrived safely. I will take you to your base." He motioned for them to follow him inside. The boys took care of the equipment, while the girls carried the luggage. After all the equipment is set up inside the mansion they all gathered at the base to get some information and some instruction from their young boys.

"Mitsuhide-san did something serious happen last night?" Naru questioned him.

"Well, the usual flickering of lights and the screaming and crying. No fire happened last night." He stated and Naru nodded.

"I see…I need information about the history of the land? And then I will have to talk with the victims or witnesses of the paranormal activity." Naru demanded, gathering stacks of paper and Lin placed his laptop ready for the interview.

"Yes, about that, my ancestors were chief leaders of the village before in turned out into this. We keep all the records in our library. And I have asked the villagers involved, I believe they are waiting outside."

"Thank you, that is all Mitsuhide-san" he shifted his direction to the team. "Takigawa-san and Matsuzaki-san, go record the temperature in places with recent activity" he said while handing down a list of locations.

"Ok boss" Takigawa immediately walked out of the base followed by the grumpy Ayako.

"Yasuhara, go research in the library" Yasu saluted "Sir Yes sir!" and marched out of the room.

"Hara-san and Brown-san, go around the house and the village and see if you can find something about the spirits." Both nodded and took off leaving Mai as the last one without instruction.

"Mai…" Mai smiled brightly waiting for her orders "tea" Naru said plainly and went back to look at the files then let one of the victims in. Mai's smile turned quickly into a frown then went to the kitchen. 'Narcisstic tea-addict' Mai muttered as she stomped all the way to the kitchen to make tea. She leaned on the counter waiting for the water to boil. As she was staring at the kettle, she realized she was all alone. She suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine. She examined the kitchen as her eyes trailed from the stove to the cupboard followed by the closet and then the child at the entrance of the kitchen. 'Wait a child?' she said as her instantly flew back to the entrance but sadly no one was there but then she was startled by a screaming kettle. 'Oh dang, it's boiling' she quickly turned it off when a hand crawled up her legs. She screamed causing the kettle to spill and burn her skin. Lin and Naru quickly went over to the kitchen.

"Mai!" Naru saw Mai down on the floor with spilled hot water all over the kitchen and a young boy with ash colored hair holding his teddy bear.

"What's going on?" he asked helping Mai up and noticed burns on her legs and hands. Mai looked at the boy beside him and gave him a warm smile, trying not to scare him.

"You gave me one hell of a scare there little one" she said softly still smiling at the boy. The boy kissed her cheeks and apologized with teary eyes.

"I'm sorry one-chan, I didn't mean to hurt you." He said still holding back her tears. Ayako and monk reached epicenter of that loud scream they heard and saw Mai with a bunch of burns.

"Really Mai! You never get satisfied do you?" Ayako scolded her and they helped her up in a chair and Ayako started treating her burns. Mai looked at the young boy who was clearly nervous and smiled sweetly at him.

"Hey there little one, what's your name?" she asked

"Riku" he replied in a low voice. He's probably scared because all the adults around him are going hysterical.

"Hey there Riku, I'm Mai and don't worry, it's not your fault I got hurt. Onee-chan is just a klutz you see." She gave him another smile and the boy slowly lit up.

"By the way, why are you in the kitchen earlier?" she asked gently

"I was following my friend, he got there before me and I thought maybe you saw him. So I wanted to ask where did he go, I'm really sorry Mai onee-chan." He looked down looking guilty again.

"Oh! No biggy, by the way this friend of yours he got there before you?" he nodded

"He was staring at you a while ago." He told her innocently and shivers went down her spine. She thought he was that boy before but she was wrong. Minutes later a woman with ash colored hair that seemed to be Riku's mother stormed the kitchen.

"Riku! Where have you been?" the moment her mother saw him, she instantly hugged her son. "I was so worried about you! Where you off playing with your 'friend' again!" she said as she released him. She looked at us and saw my injuries. She bowed as an apology.

"I am so sorry, my name is Matsuyama Sakura. I am Riku's mother. I am very sorry for the trouble he caused." She said bowing down again.

"Ah don't worry, it's nothing big" I told her and Ayako glared at me. I replied mentally _'he's just a kid!'_ and Ayako sighed.

"Matsuyama? You are one of the persons I need to interview am I correct?" Naru asked the woman and she nodded.

"Mai and Takigawa, go play with Riku" monk growled and I happily took Riku's hand.

"Come on Riku, let's play." And we walked out of the room leaving Naru to do _'his business'._

* * *

Mai and Riku were playing while monk was keeping watch on both of them when Riku suddenly stood up.

"Riku?" Mai asked

"There you are! I've been looking for you" Riku said as if he was talking to someone. Mai and monk searched the room but no _'kid'_ was visible to their eyes.

"Onee-chan" Riku tugged at Mai's sleeve and pointed at a certain direction. "That's my friend" I looked at the direction he was pointing but there was no one there. Shivers ran down my spine, monk was about to start chanting when I stopped him.

"What's the name of your friend Riku?" I asked him and I hear monk slam his hand on his head. Riku turned to his imaginary friend and started nodding.

"He told me not to tell you yet…" Riku told her. Mai smiled sweetly at the boy and turned to the place where 'his friend' was supposedly standing.

"Hello there, my name is Taniyama Mai. I hope I can be friends with you." She smiled gently and reached out her hand to meet a handshake.

"Don't worry, Mai onee-chan is really nice" Riku told the invisible figure. And then a few seconds later, cold sensations ran through her hand and a gentle force moved her hand up and down like a handshake. She smiled gently until she feel her eyes getting groggy and his balance failing her. She glanced at Riku and was shocked when she saw the boy beside him.

"He had red eyes…" and then everything faded to black.

* * *

**A/N: How was it? I made sure to read it before posting now so I think that there'll be fewer errors (I guess). Please don't hesitate to point it out though, and please…please EVALUATE by REVIEWING. **

**(I forgot to post this on the last chapter)**

**If you add all the candles Mai blew it would be a total of 16 candles.**

**Concerning the age, I really have no idea besides the fact that Naru was seventeen on the first episode. I thought that Mai worked for him maybe less than six months and then Naru left and so six months later he came back which was coincidentally the day before Mai's birthday, w/c means Naru is eighteen. Lin…about 23 in my story (no basis). Yasu is eighteen since he applied for a university in the anime which means he was a graduating student at that time. Monk 20 or turning 21, same goes for Ayako (again no basis). And lastly, John 20 since he was nineteen on the series.**

**Hmmm…that's all I guess. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! (^^)/**


	4. Chapter 4: The Two Orphans

**Celestial Star12:…**  
**Naru:…**  
**Mai:…uhhh….**  
**Naru:…che…**  
**Celestial Star12: I'm sorry okay! Bows head in shame…**  
**Naru: I can't believe it took you so long to update**  
**Celestial Star12: I was having my review for my college entrance exam (T_T)**  
**Naru: Oh yeah, I forgot that an idiot like you can't keep up with you calculus and trigonometry lessons. I feel sorry for your teacher…**  
**Celestial Star12: Hey! I haven't took those lessons yet! But hey, sorry for not being a genius jerk!**  
**Naru: yes, you're an unfortunate, helpless idiot that was not born with looks and intelligence like mine.**  
**(awkward silence)**  
**Mai: uhhh…anyway, Celestial Star12 wanted to apologize for the VERY LATE update, she was banned from touching her laptop during weekdays even though its summer vacation.**  
**(click)**  
**Mai: gasp OH MY GOD! WHERE DID THAT 45-K MAGNUM COME FROM!**  
**Celestial Star12: Oh Naru, my dear Naru, I am soooo gonna ruin that handsome face of yours.**  
**Naru: still calm you think I'm handsome? Looks like a few of your brain cells are still working.**  
**(Bang)**  
**Mai: MOTHER F! uhhh, Celestial Star12 would like to thank the following persons for their continuous support, especially for taking their time in reviewing her story.**

**Jaz-147; Chrysanthia-Sunshine; Artemis-Sadie-Athena-Piper; Kitten Frozen in Fire; sakuraharuno; Mutsumi Ayano; ICIKO; Moons-Chan; Little-bad-Angel; LavenderXCross; Drill; naruislikeaboss; felicianoludwig; xX May Taniyama Xx; Mizumori Fumaira; debby76; saeko; lici910 and jess.**

**Thank you so much for reviewing, she can't stop reading your reviews. THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**(bang)**

**Mai: HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD! Please review or else she'll get really violent. runs**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Two Orphans**

_Mai stood amidst the pitch black abyss looking around to see a familiar face._

"_Gene where are you?" she called out, but no person called Gene appeared in this unending sight of darkness. After waking up and recalling how she fainted, she knew right away that she was in the astral plane, and she was sure that it was about to show her something about the red-eyed ghost that she saw before she fainted. Minutes passed and still no sight of Gene._

"_Wait! I shouldn't rely on Gene forever. He's supposed to be 'at rest'_ _and materializing in front of me must take a lot of energy." She mumbled to herself. 'That's right Mai! Now focus and take a look at that boys past!' she braced herself for the incoming vision that was about to begin._

"_Natsume…Where are you Natsume?" a boy with silver hair and black eyes searched every nook and cranny of the abandoned warehouse. He looked in every corner, closets, and even at the back of the warehouse, but there was no one there._

"_Natsume!" the boy tried calling again. And this time he heard a small hic behind the tower of crates and empty boxes._

"_Natsume…are you there?" he sneaked behind the boxes and saw a boy with dark blue hair. He was sitting upright, his knees up and his arms covering his face._

"_Kaito…?" he took a small peek and Mai was able to get a glance on his ruby eyes. 'So his name is Natsume?' Mai thought and shifted her focus back on the scene. Natsume was crying more openly as Kaito patted his head. 'Poor kid…I wonder what happened to him.' Mai thought._

"_I didn't mean to Kaito! I really, really didn't mean it" Natsume cried even louder. Kaito rubbed his back and smiled warmly._

"_I know…don't worry…I know that you're a good guy Natsume…"_

_The scene began to fade and Mai was still confused. 'What happened to Natsume? Is he one of the victims?" But before she could figure that out, she was drawn back to her body._

"Mai!" Mai fluttered her eyes as the man who was calling her kept on shaking her body endlessly. She groaned and tried to sit up as her vision became more and more clear.

"Bou-san?" she looked at the monk right in front of her who a worrying look plastered in his face.

"Jou-chan!" he sighed "You shouldn't play medium you know…" Takigawa said as he poked Mai's forehead hard.

"Owww! That hurts bou-san" Mai complained. But before she could complain more, she was cut off by her overly-narcisstic boss.

"Did you dream?" Naru asked.

"Yeah, it was about two children named Natsume and Kaito. Kaito was looking for him in an abandoned warehouse, he found him behind the pile of boxes and Natsume was crying saying he didn't mean to do something….i don't know. I didn't understand much of the vision." She paused for a while to think. "And I think that Natsume is Riku's imaginary friend." She told Naru.

"Hmmm, that doesn't seem to be the case Mai-san." John said "Sakura-san told us that Riku had been calling his friend Kaito or something…" John trailed and Mai was surprised.

"Eeeh? But I thought that Kaito had black eyes in my vision." Mai murmured she was really confused now. The visions don't seem to add up at all. She scratched her head annoyed that the case isn't going anywhere, and surely she's not helping. She was about to say something about Kaito but then Yasuhara barged in the door with a mischievous grin plastered in his face.

"Naru-chan! I found something really interesting" he grinned and cleared his throat as he began to present the fruits of his research.

"I scanned over the old and fragile books in the library, and if you saw them you'd wonder why they're really crappy and so prehistoric. But if you researched the history of this place, you'll never wonder In the first place." Yasu said as he handed the papers to Naru and everyone began reading as Yasu orally explained it.

"In late 90's, the village was experiencing great poverty and famine. Crops died for this unknown drought that comes out of nowhere, wells dried up, and forest fires happen frequently just like what was happening right now. The village chief at that time was named Shuyin, his son was living in the city during the great poverty the village was experiencing. The interesting part is the letters sent to Shuyin by the villagers, think of it as complaints." He pointed at the old pieces of paper Naru was holding. Everyone gasped as they read the letters of complaint Yasu was talking about. It wasn't about poverty or food or anything about corruption." He stated as they read the letters one by one:

"_**That boy is evil!"**_

"_**He is the source of misfortunes that had been happening to us!"**_

"_**The devil's child! Let us kill him already"**_

"_**Kill that child or else the end will come upon us all!"**_

Everyone was left mouth-opened. Silence was in the room, and everyone stared blankly at the pieces of paper Yasu found. Shortly after that, the lights began to flicker and rapping noises were made and then it stopped, but it was replaced by the loud striking of a bell, frantic footsteps and nervous voices.

"What the hell is going on outside?" monk said as he ran out to check all the fuss, all of us were following behind him. When we reached outside of the mansion we saw all the villagers panicking. Men were running, mother's grab their children and some were crying and wailing…it was total chaos, when we saw the thick black smoke not far from the mansion we understood then that there was a fire. We quickly ran to the place to help in putting out the fire. The men in our team helped the villagers gather water while Ayako, Masako and I took care of the victims. As I was helping Ayako tend the wounds of the children I took a glimpse of the burning house and was horrified.

"Ayako there's still somewhere in there!" I pointed at the house where I can clearly see a figure of a child crawled up in his knees with his arms covering his face.

"Where Mai?" Ayako was searching it as I was desperately pointing at the silhouette of the child. The fire got even bigger causing debris to fall near the child was sitting. I could barely hold my feet in place. I just couldn't watch this anymore. I ran and grabbed a bucket full of water from a villager and splashed it all over me. I gave the bucket buck earning a confused face from the villager but I had no time to explain, the child was in danger! I ran inside the burning house as Ayako screamed my name but I never looked back.

"Boy! Where are you?" I called for him I continued to search amidst the blazing corners and debris not to mention the gust of smoke that covered the house. When I reached the end of the house I finally found him. I kneeled right next to him putting my hands over his shoulders and whispered to him.

"Everything's gonna be alright" I smiled warmly at the boy as I grabbed his hand to exit this blazing room. Unfortunately though, he remained in the same position and when I was about to ask what's wrong he raised his head and said something I couldn't understand. I crashed on the floor as my eyesight slowly faded. _'Am I going to_ _die?'_ I questioned myself and my world turned pitch black.

**~Naru's POV**

Naru shuffled through the papers Yasu had given him. _'Poverty, drought, famine'_ Naru thought. But out of the three Naru thought that the drought seemed out of place. '_Just where did this drought come from?'_ he put a hand on his chin and kept on thinking how to put this clues together.

"…_the interesting part were the letters sent by the villagers"_ Naru wasn't paying attention. Well he really didn't need to, but that was the only thing that caught Naru's ear. He shuffled the papers once again and found old stationeries that were on the verge of ripping and crumbling into dust. He stared at the nearly faded but still legible writings and thought…_'maybe…_'.

"Calamities caused by a child who was said to be the son of a devil…" before he could position himself into a deep thought, loud beating of bells rang in the air. Takigawa ran outside to check and everyone else followed him. When they got outside, he noticed smoke arising in a particular place. When they arrived there, they met a burning house. Naru quickly went over to the victims to question them and the rest helped put out the fire.

"What happened?" Naru asked in his stoic mask.

"Fire, fire appeared out of nowhere!" the lady looked like she was hysterical as she was clutching her children in her arms.

Naru was putting the clues together, '_calamities, fire, and a devil's child…'_

"That is all, thank you for your cooperation." Naru said to the lady and she just nodded still in shock of what happened. He was about to go Lin and tell him what he figured out.

"The ghost responsible for this mess is a child" Naru muttered to himself and when he was about to walk he heard a man shouting.

"Hey you! What are you doing!" when he turned around, he saw Mai who stole the bucket of water and poured it all to herself then went inside the burning house.

"Mai!" he heard Ayako shout, he stole a bucket of water from a villager and repeated what Mai did, when he was about to go inside, debris piled up in the entrance before he could even enter.

"Idiot!" he said angrily then used his PK to blast these things off. He would get a mouthful of Lin later.

When he reached Mai, he saw her lying helplessly on the floor.

"Stupid girl" he said in her ear and scooped her up bridal style exiting the house.

**~Mai's POV**

_Tiny orbs of light flickered across the dimension Mai knew as the astral plane. She groggily stood up and tried to recall how she ended up being here. Her mind processed a long list of possible reasons to fall asleep during a case and she scanned all of those and poof! 'Oh yeah! I fainted while trying to get a child out of the burning house…' _

_There was 5 seconds silence…_

"_OH MY GOD! I FAINTED IN A BURNING HOUSE! AM I DEAD? AM I? GENE WHERE ARE YOU! JESUS CHRIST…." She plopped down on the floor, trying to calm herself. She continued to whimper on the floor when she felt a hand behind her that made her jump on the spot. When she turned around, she saw Gene slightly panicking. He was looking at her with worried eyes and began to shake her back and forth._

"_Mai wake up! It's dangerous here, leave the astral plane, you can't stay here." Mai was confused but nodded instead. Gene always had this 'commanding tone' that you can't reject._

"_This is really important Mai, NEVER BE ALONE! Stay close to Noll and NEVER leave his side do you understand." Mai nodded again, Gene looked scary, he's so much like Naru right now, just scarier. She closed her eyes and tried to feel her way back to her body._

* * *

_=o(^.^~)/=_

When Mai came to, the first thing that greeted her was bou-san's ultimate bear hug technique. And while she was being squeezed out of life in between monk's arms she was receiving Ayako's fearful tongue-lashing paired with a mouthful of scolding.

"Did somebody turn Mai-chan into a bad girl? 'cause it seems that she can't behave and needs a good baby-sitting." Yasuhara wagged his finger at Mai.

"JOU-CHAN/MAI JUST WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" Ayako and Takigawa said in unison. Mai sweat dropped and looked at both of them with puppy-sad-eyes. Both of them sighed, nobody can predict when she'll execute her klutz attack after all.

"What were you thinking that made you run inside a burning house like an idiot" Naru said coldly and Mai frowned.

"Hey, it's not like I wanted to die you know I-"

"What you did is another version of the word called suicide. I'm starting to doubt that you're even using your brain, or if it can comprehend to the words called RECKLESSNESS and DANGEROUS" Naru emphasized the two words at her and glared coldly. She suddenly remembered Gene's angry face and took back what she said earlier 'che…twins, they're both scary after all'. Speaking of remembering, she jolted out of the bed all of a sudden.

"Ayako THE KID! Is he okay? He's safe now right?" Mai eyed the confused and speechless priestess in front of her.

"Mai, there is no child in the first place. Every person occupying the house safely evacuated before the fire got worse" Naru told her.

"But!" Naru glared at her and was unable to keep on talking.

"Get some rest, we have exorcisms to do in the morning" Naru walked out of the room and was followed by Lin leaving the team and Mai quiet in her room.

"Don't worry Mai, despite his attitude he was actually very worried about you. He was the one that saved you after all." Ayako sat beside her tucking her into bed like a child. Mai just gave off a doubtful look in response. The rest of the team called it a day and went back to their own quarters.

* * *

_=o(^.^~)/=_

_Mai looked around the place she was currently standing. She was amidst a big angry crowd carrying torches, rakes, knives and all kinds of weapons. When Mai realized it was a vision, she peeked further into the crowd to get a better look of what they were venting their anger on. When she was able to sneak to the front, she saw two boys that she recognized as Kaito and Natsume. Kaito was protecting Natsume from the horde of stones they were being thrown at. Then one of the villagers grabbed Kaito away from Natsume and started to hit him with a rake endlessly. Mai covered her mouth at the gruesome scenario in front of her._

_"Die you son of a bitch! Rot in hell you devil's advocate!" the villager continued the successions of blows as blood splattered everywhere, as kaito's blood dyed the soil red. The villagers continued throwing stones and other things at Natsume who was desperately reaching for Kaito who was reaching out his hand in the same way. In the middle of the angry mob were two boys who were on the verge of dying, they were spitting on them, kicking them mercilessly and calling them devils. Mai cried unable to take it anymore. 'What did they do to deserve this'_

_"STOP IT!" Mai shouted, but no heard her, in fact, nobody saw her. She was already in the middle with the two boys trying to shield them from the objects that were aimed at them, instead they just slipped past through her body. She shifted her gaze to Natsume and Kaito._

_"Natsume…run" and with that Kaito breathed his last. _

_"Kaito? KAITO!" Natsume screamed with all the strength he had left. But it wasn't enough to keep him alive. He glared at the crowd, his red eyes bloodier than usual. Despite how weak he is already, he was able to stand as tears streamed between his eyes. He screamed so loud that the villagers were frightened and started to run. When Natsume finished screaming, he glared at the villagers who were running like ants with no particular direction, and the next thing that followed were screams of pain and anguish. Fire engulfed the whole village in a matter of seconds, people were slowly being incinerated into ashes slowly and painfully meeting their deaths. No one was spared, everyone burned while Natsume laughed hysterically like some madman._

_"WHO'S ROTTING IN HELL NOW? !"_

_Mai was unable to move. Her feet were glued on the ground and all she can do is watch everything burn like hell. She just stood there crying silently as Natsume mercilessly kill every single villager in the village while laughing._

_"Natsume is psychic…" Mai whispered softly. Everything makes sense now, Natsume probably couldn't control his powers therefore explaining the mysterious fires that appeared out of nowhere and it somehow labeled him as a devil._

_"Look Kaito, isn't this pretty? Everybody is burning and it makes me so happy right now! Nobody can hurt us anymore Kaito so please…come back" Natsume held Kaito's hand. Although he still wore that creepy smile, tears flooded his face. Mai couldn't do anything, she just watched them as they too were engulfed in flames._

_"He really didn't mean too…" that was the last thing Mai could say before she was pulled out of the astral plane._

* * *

=o(^.^~)/=

When Mai woke up she found herself on the floor. 'Did I fall?' Mai thought embarrassed as she tried to crawl back into bed. She reached for the covers to aid her in getting up, but before she could even lift herself up something tugged her back to the floor. All the hair in her body suddenly stood up. She was about to wake Ayako when it started to pull her out of the room.

"AYAKOOOOOO!" Mai screamed. Both Masako and Ayako jolted from their sleep and saw Mai being pulled out of the room. Ayako quickly chased after Mai but the door suddenly closed and locked them inside.

"Mai! Mai!"

* * *

=o(^.^~)/=

Naru was still up reviewing the details of the case while Lin was watching the monitors when a scream echoed throughout the house. Naru immediately recognized it as Mai's voice and stood up alarmed. Both of them saw Mai being dragged by an invisible entity, they quickly ran out of the base in pursuit of the ghost that attacked Mai. Naru ran like never before, the ghost isn't supposed to be this violent. Or if he did, he would have burned her not drag her out of nowhere. Lin immediately whistled for his shiki to follow Mai as they ran through the mansion following Mai's screams. They finally caught up to her when it suddenly stopped in the lobby. Naru motioned to get a hold of Mai when a powerful blast sent him flying backwards. 'What the fuck!' he growled as he tried to get back on his feet. Lin whistled calling 3 of his shikis, the swirled around Mai but all three of them were deflected by some sort of barrier. Naru started to gather up energy as his body began to glow, he couldn't think straight anymore, Mai was in danger and even Lin was panicking, he didn't know what to do anymore…Oliver Davis is scared…scared that he might lose someone important and isn't able to do anything about it like before. Just when he was about to release his PK, the temperature suddenly rose and embers started to form around Mai burning the figure that was dragging her earlier. Behind the confused Naru and Lin was the rest of the team with mouths open. They all stared at Mai who looked scared and confused as they were.

"Mai you better start learning how to repel things when you're so good at attracting them, especially trouble." Takigawa looked at Mai and went to her side. But before he could even reach her, Naru was already there helping her up and supporting her with his arms causing 'physical contact' which isn't included in Naru's dictionary, yet, he was the one who initiated it first.

"Big Boss: Strike One!" Yasu whispered but enabling the team hear excluding Naru and Mai of course.

Naru examined his wide-eyed assistant, checking for any serious wounds. He found a few bruises and abrasions caused by the pull earlier but there were no serious injuries and thinking about it made Naru sigh in relief. She offered her his hand and helped her get up and have a long and serious talk with her and the rest of SPR. He held her fragile arms as she stood wobbling on her feet. 'She's still scared, she had no idea what happened after all' Naru thought. When he felt Mai's grip tighten on his arms, he unconsciously slid his hand on her waist to keep her from falling and at the same time let her know that he's there. Lin's eyebrow rose curiously 'Noll's showing open kindness…he must be tensed right now. Looks like Noll needs to see an accident first before his hormones kick in, idiot scientist.' He smirked behind Naru's back and fought the urge to take his cellphone and take a shot of Oliver Davis's rare act of kindness. But his smirk faded when he saw Noll holding the protective charm he gave to Mai on her birthday in shreds.

"Lin, are you sure this thing works?" Naru eyed at him

"I wouldn't have given it to Taniyama-san if I know it won't. Naru I made that myself" he said as he took shredded necklace from Naru and inspected it. His eyes grew large.

"It's gone…all the power that I put on the necklace is gone. Not even a faint power was left"

"I'm sorry Lin-san. I broke it even though you exerted a lot of effort in making that necklace…" Mai said softly in her shaking voice.

"It's alright Taniyama-san, though I must be the one to apologize that it wasn't able to protect you" Lin bowed in apology.

"That's not true Lin-san! That thing was about to…like swallow me but then it wasn't able to because the necklace protected me!" Mai shouted, her tears were evident already. Ayako hugged Mai and began soothing her, she felt responsible also for not being able to protect Mai.

"Why don't we go back to the base?" Yasu said and everyone else nodded.

* * *

=o(^.^~)/=

"Mai what happened?" Ayako scanned her when Naru helped her sit in the couch of the base. It was the nearest place to have _'Mai's interrogation_' to take place. Lin grabbed his laptop while the others sat on the chairs they could find. Masako and John came back with tea for everyone.

"Well I had a dream about Natsume and Kaito. The villagers were mad at them calling them devils while throwing stones at them. Then one man suddenly grabbed Kaito who was shielding Natsume from the stoned and hit him with a rake countless of times. Natsume tries to reach his hand as stones hit him but before he could, Kaito died…" Mai's eyes began to moist and a single tear dropped and trailed down her cheek.

"Natsume…he's a psychic like Naru…and the whole village including the villagers were cremated in the blazing field" Mai started sobbing quietly. The images of Natsume who had gone insane when he lost the only person who loved him and rook care of him.

"He…really didn't mean to do it, he couldn't control his powers very well, but he avoided hurting people with all the things they labeled and did to him…to them" she cried harder and Ayako rubbed her back gently. Mai sniffed and fought back her tears so that she could explain what happened further.

"After I woke up, I found myself on the floor. When I tried to climb back to my bed, something grabbed my ankle and pulled me back into the floor. Even though I was still half-awake, I knew something was wrong and I felt really scared so I decided to call Ayako, but before I was able to do that, it pulled me." She sobbed again, and she was crying hysterically now.

"I'm so scared!" Mai screamed in between her muffled cries. Ayako pulled her into her chest and gave her a tight squeeze.

"Man! Just what kind of priestess are you? She was right beside you and she still got attacked by a ghost?" monk said jokingly but it backfired him when the purse and yells from Ayako didn't come charging at him. Instead, Ayako looked at him with a painful expression, like she was about to cry for being so useless.

"Everything makes sense now, we can't wait for tomorrow, let's exorcise it now." Naru said as he stood up from his seat.

"Uhmm...care to explain Shibuya-san?" John asked meekly.

"I summed up the research Yasuhara made, at first I thought that this case was some kind of cursing since someone was treated like an excommunicated villager. But then, I couldn't understand why there were no use of dolls or any form of cursing methods, I also consulted Lin about this and we were both confused about it. But then it became clear during the fire accident and the apparition of the child that Mai saw in the burning house. I assumed that the ghost is a psychic and the villagers were terrified of his power: Pyrokinesis. He had the ability to influence the temperature explaining why there was drought resulting to crops dying and famine. Not to mention the strange forest fires. Because of those incidents, the villagers labeled him as a 'devil's child' and probably the other kid was accused to be his 'bodyguard' or his 'contractor', the rest, Mai already told us." Naru explained and the team nodded in agreement. Everything makes sense now, all they have to do is exorcise it and everything will be fine.

"But there's still something that's been bothering me…" Naru held his chin, thinking deeply.

"Who was the ghost that attacked Mai? I am pretty sure it wasn't Natsume especially Kaito since they were both fond of Mai. It also seemed like Natsume who was still sane trusted Mai and sought her help. It can't be the villagers also, not once the villagers were able touch a single resident of this town moreover pull them out of bed." Naru paused for awhile then looked at Mai briefly and his eyes went back to SPR.

"Anyway, we can't let the danger escalate any further." Naru crossed his arms and went into boss mode.

"Brown-san, bou-san and Matsuzaki-san please get ready. Lin set up your shikis just in case the ghost becomes violent. Hara-san we also need your help, Yasuhara-san, you aren't allowed to wander by yourself."

"Don't worry boss, I will never plan on doing that" Yasu saluted at him. Naru turned to Mai whose cries began to soften.

"Mai, never leave my side" Naru stated in a commanding tone. Mai gave a weak nod in response. It's going to be a rough night for SPR.

* * *

=o(^.^~)/=

The SPR stood in the fields where Mai was first attacked and got her hand printed marks on her legs. The place is actually where all the villagers gathered at that night and died in that particular field. Masako was seated on the grass surrounded by a circle of characters not found in any language. Behind her were John, bou-san, and Ayako who were in there attires and was ready to chant any time. Not far from them was Naru, Lin, Yasu and Mai. Masako gave Naru a nod indicating the start of the jourei.

"Natsume, I know you are here. Please talk to me" the medium stated. There was a sudden cold breeze and the temperature around them began to drop immensely. Then a thin foggy, transparent figure appeared amidst the plain grasses. It was a boy with ash colored hair and red piercing eyes. He was looking at the medium with a sinister smile. Mai's heart clenched the moment she saw Natsume with that evil smile plastered on his face.

"Please stop what you are doing, you have obtained your revenge, there is no need to harm any more people and hurt yourself even further. Please move on and follow the light, I am sure that Kaito is waiting for you on the other side." Masako said gently with a matching smile. Natsume's smirk grew even wider and he began to laugh in a creepy way. After a few seconds, he stopped laughing and looked dead straight into Masako's eyes,

"No need to hurt them? But I still want to burn them more?" he pouted and flames began to appear in the field. Ayako, monk and john took these as a go signal and started chanting. Natsume just laughed unaffected by their chants as the fires grew even bigger. Mai who was watching started to cry silently. _'It's so sad and painful…his eyes…he's suffering so much…he doesn't deserve this…'_ Mai thought. She gazed unto the burning fields and her eyes recognized the silhouette amidst the burning grass. It was Kaito and he was crying. He was begging Mai to stop Kaito from torturing himself any further.

"_Onee-chan, please" _Kaito begged her with a painful tone. And without any further ado, Mai ran and charged at Natsume ignoring the flames that surrounded the place and hugged him really tight. Natsume was evidently shocked; no one ever tried to hug him, especially with all the flames around him.

"It's okay, you can stop now. It's all over Natsume…" Mai said staring at his ruby eyes and wiping the tears that were streaming down his cheeks which he had not noticed at all. Mai smiled warmly at him stroking his ash-like colored hair, pushing the bangs away from his eyes causing his red orbs to become more evident.

"Kaito's waiting you know? He's waiting for you all this time. And I assure you, nobody will hurt both of you anymore. So stop hurting yourself Natsume, you don't deserve this pain because I know you're a good boy Natsume…you don't hurt anybody" Mai smiled even brighter at Natsume and instantly all the flames slowly disappeared into thin air leaving Mai and the transparent body of a crying little boy who was hugging Mai back. SPR was dazed, she really was reckless, but Mai knew what the ghost wanted…it was love. They all treated him like a monster and the only friend he had also experienced the same pain he had gone through even though he didn't deserve it…no…they both don't deserve it. It was that time when Kaito appeared. But he didn't look happy, he was running to Mai and Natsume's direction like he was warning them of something.

"_ONEE-CHAN! NATSUME!" Kaito screamed._

* * *

=o(^.^~)/=

Mai was soothing the sobbing child in her arms, to put it more clearly, the sobbing ghost in her arms, but it doesn't matter at all. Mai wanted to make up for all the years of agony that Natsume went through. Natsume was also hugging her back this time, crying in her chest as she brushed his ash colored locks with her fingers. When she looked up, she saw Kaito running towards them screaming.

"_ONEE-CHAN! NATSUME!" but he wasn't happy or dramatic. He looked terrified like something big was after him. When she turned around she saw a dark figure with a creepy smile. Its teeth were pointed sharp and his eyes were blood-red. And the next thing she knew was that she was barely inches from its face._

"_I found you"_

* * *

**A/N: I am really sorry this chapter was soooooo late, I was having my review for my college assessment exams and for the past two weeks I was being tortured by chemistry, geometry, trigonometry and calculus (T.T) somebody save me. Oh, I also am not allowed to touch my laptop during weekdays. Sometimes, I was thinking of eloping with my laptop in a place far from science and math you know. Oh and more importantly, PLEASE DONT LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! (I'm serious here)**

**Oh and btw, im a newbie and I would really like to ask for your help. I need ideas for the next case i need to put in the story. i really tried to research about ghost stories and even stared at scary pictures but im still not satisfied with what i came up (The ones i was satisfied with was arranged for chapters that are VERY IMPORTANT for the story) so if you'd like to help i would be delighted to accept it (^^)/. just pm me and i'll try to include them in my story. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING! :D**

**OH! and here's the format:**

**1. The case- what the case is about,all the information i need regarding the case like how many died, their genders what's their relationship with the MAIN ghost, why was he haunting it etc.**

**2. The characters- names, personality and appearance. (this is what usually takes my time...im VERY picky about names but dont worry, ill respect whatever name you choose and will not change it ;D)**

**3. Setting- the town or city, if it is a house, hotel, restaurant etc...**

**4. if you'd like suggestions or tell me how you want me to write the case, you can also tell me. oh and if i have something to change regarding the case so that i could insert the plot that i need, I'll tell you first but if you wont agree, then lets have a good talk about it (though i think it would be a spoiler for you...)**

**That's all...and thank you for your continuous support! i love you guys xD**


	5. Chapter 5:All ends well?

**Me: (bows) hello guys! I wanted to thank you for the reviews and I hope they keep comin hehe…oh and why do I think I smell something funny.**

**(Hear giggles)**

**Me: My god! My skirt is burning! (Turns to the kids who were rolling on the floor laughing)**  
**Me: Why you…**  
**Kaito and Natsume: uh oh…**

**(Chases them with a gun)**

**Naru: Idiots…**  
**Mai: Naru shut up! You were nearly killed remember? (Pokes his wound)**  
**Naru: (groans and glared at Mai)**  
**Mai: anyway…READ and REVIEW PLEASE!**

**(Gunshot)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ghost hunt, it's way too awesome to be owned by someone like me. I also don't own something else here but I can't tell you…yet xD.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: All ends well?**

"_I found you"_

Mai gasped and felt a sharp pain in her chest, she felt claws digging on her skin as every hair in her body stood up in fear. She hitched having a hard time to breathe and her vision became all blurry. It didn't take long for her to be enveloped in complete darkness.

_=o(^.^~)/=_

_Mai looked around the place, everything was white. From walls to beds and blankets, it was blinding and very, very uncomfortable. She jolted up from her bed and sat up hugging her knees. She was all alone in that blinding room scared, shaken to the bones. She heard a click on the white door which was right in front of her bed. The doorknob turned slowly revealing 3 people in white. She jerked up from the bed falling backwards. One of the men took a syringe in a white briefcase and filled it with a colorless liquid, her eyes widened when the other doctor grabbed both of her arms and held her into place._

'_No! I'm scared!' she thought struggling to break free from the man's clutches. The man with the syringe stepped closer, she closed her eyes not wanting to see what will happen next, until she felt a finger lift her chin up, she opened her eyes but she couldn't see the man's face, but she could clearly see his sinister smile, threatening her at her wits end._

"_Mai" his thumb caressed her cheek and he looked like he was ready to eat her whole._

"_Mai…"_

"_Mai…"_

"_Mai!" she suddenly felt a strong pull out of nowhere, followed by the feeling of being shaken endlessly._

"_Mai open your eyes, It's me!" the voice was all-too familiar…she instantly opened her eyes that brought with it tiny droplets of water._

"_Gene…" Mai winced and hugged her spirit guide, shaking. Gene embraced the paranoid girl in his arms, stroking her brown locks and gently rubbing her back._

"_Mai, I know you're not fine right now, but you have to wake up. And when you do, tell my brother to NEVER leave your side or at least leave you all alone. Do you understand?" Gene was nearly screaming at her, she nodded in reply, too weak to answer him verbally._

"_You have to tell Noll when you wake up ok?" Gene said as he cupped her cheeks and looked straight into her copper eyes. He kissed her forehead gently and pushed her out of the astral realm._

~Naru's POV

Naru wanted to drag his feet and run over to Mai, but strangely, his feet were not very cooperative, he couldn't move an inch, neither did the others move from where they had been. Lin couldn't call out his shikis, and Naru already looked like he wanted to crawl on the grass just to get where Mai is and the dark figure which was hovering above the unconscious Mai. He growled, he knew he wasn't allowed to do this but he couldn't stand there and watch the jackass who looked like it was about to eat her or something. He slowly gathered up energy, and a smooth breeze encircled him until he was covered in a bright, golden light. Lin cried out, but he ignored it. He was sick of losing someone in front of his eyes, he knew that if he uses his PK again he'd definitely collapse this time. But he didn't care, only guilt will haunt him for the rest of his life when something happens to Mai.

"_Onii-chan…" _Kaito crept up to him and held his glowing hand.

"_Let me help" _Kaito told him, and a few seconds later he was glowing as bright as Naru. He turned to Natsume who was protectively

"_Natsume…" _Kaito signaled the other boy who was protectively covering Mai in his little arms. They both nodded simultaneously and Kaito glanced back at Naru mentally telling him to blast his PK. Naru fired the energy he gathered in one shot, Kaito glowed luminous blue-green and strangely, the side effects Naru was supposed to be meeting didn't come. The dark entity winced in pain when Naru's PK blew him 10 m away from Mai. When it tried to stand up Natsume immediately burned him on the spot. Mai flinched and woke up panting hard, she then noticed Natsume was gripping her shoulder looking at something. She was about to turn around to see for herself when a pair of strong arms grabbed her and wrapped her body. She looked at the black fabric she was leaning on and the scent of vanilla invading her nose. She blushed knowing it was Naru, _'what exactly is going on here?'_ she thought as Naru's hand buried her even deeper towards his chest.

"Don't move…" Naru authorized her, she peeked between Naru's shoulders and saw the horrid black figure being incinerated into ashes. She gasped and trembled remembering its face with bloodshot eyes and sharp teeth. Naru noticed this and gripped her tighter in his arms. The screams continued on and on until it slowly faded as the ashes were swept away by the wind and disappearing into nothing. And out of nowhere, a soft whistle blended in the air causing the screams and the figure to disappear leaving the flames and the rest of the gang hanging.

_=o(^.^~)/=_

"_Onee-chan I'm sorry" _Natsume lowered his head.

"Silly, you're a good boy I know that…" Mai patted his head gently.

"_But I'm the one who caused those burns!" _Natsume gripped her sleeve.

"Shhh…it's okay…it's okay…" Mai pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back

"Thank you for saving me Natsume" she smiled warmly at him, Natsume sniffed and rubbed his eyes.

"You too Kaito" Mai turned to the ghost beside Naru she smiled at him and Kaito blushed a little fidgeting. 'I'm sure it's the first time they were thanked by someone…Awww…how cute' Mai giggled and both boys started to glow. Kaito went to Mai and looked at her seriously.

"_Onee-chan, that ghost kept on following you… I doubt that it will stop once the case is over"_ he told her with worried eyes.

"Don't worry about that" Naru butted in all of a sudden and Kaito smirked nodding. The boys went to Mai and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you" they said in unison and ran off slowly disappearing. Mai smiled as they ran off holding hands and were both smiling. _'They're finally together'_ she_ thought._

_=o(^.^~)/=_

[When they arrived in Shibuya]

Mai hopped of the van and stretched her arms, she breathed and sighed. She was finally back in her apartment. The case was solved. They found out that Natsume had Pyrokinesis and Kaito had healing powers. They were both psychics and the villagers excommunicated them out of fear. When both of them were cleansed, the villagers disappeared along with them. They were still afraid of Natsume thus unable to move on. Mitsuhide-san and the villagers thanked us, he also paid us a large sum of money enough to build a mansion like his. Mai sighed again, the ride back to Shibuya nearly choked her…it was completely silent. She thought that her 'boss' would bombard her with his mouth again but he didn't and it made her even more nervous. She was startled when the door of the van closed and Naru walked his way to the building. He followed him all the way to her door. She opened it and looked up at her boss saying her last prayers while Naru just stood there with a blank expression.

"Ugh…Naru…" she gulped

"Pack up" Naru said and Mai gapped thinking she was hearing things. _'Another case? Right now?'_ she thought and she heard him sigh.

"Ditch this apartment and move in with me"

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter is short but don't worry I'll update soon. Please look forward into reading it cuz it will get interesting from here on (nyahahaha). Oh and I look forward to your reviews so don't leave without it.**

***And for the last time, I'm going to post my SOS signal regarding suggestions and my need for characters. If nobody will pm me then…oh well…I'm not pushing you anyway, but it would help me update faster. You can refer to the format on the previous chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6: Her Dreams

**A/N: hellow guys… would like to warn the KIDS there that there will be A LITTLE something not really suitable for children below 13. Don't worry! I assure you it's no M but a little, kinda, pervy….**

**And I would like to inform you that I am currently preparing for my college entrance exams right now…I'm a graduating student who's an officer in a super busy club…as in SUPER BUSY! I might be able to update once a month but if I couldn't, I hope you can understand the situation I will be then. Please pray that I would make it to the top ten! I really need it (T.T)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ghost hunt. 'Cuz if I did… both Naru and Gene would bow down before me saying "My Lady" (kyaahhhh!) **

**Naru: That is terribly disgusting...only idiots would do that.  
Gene: Oh come on Noll…don't be too harsh, let the girl daydream.  
Me: hey! If you plan on backstabbing me, could you at least go to place where I can't hear you!  
Gene: I'm sorry my lady….( flashes puppy sad eyes)  
Me: …  
Gene: …  
Me: You think you ca get away with that?  
Gene: Hmmm….let me think about it…yes?  
Me: Then scram!  
Gene: Adios baby brother! (Gives Noll a flying kiss)  
Me: (glaring at Naru)  
Naru: (glares back)  
Me: Noll, I'm gonna feed you to my hamsters…  
Naru: Hamsters?**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Her Dreams**

"Ditch this apartment and move in with me" Noll told her with a blank expression. Awkward silence filled the room.

"Idiot, when are you going to close that mouth of yours? Your already are an idiot and looking at your face right now would make you look even more stupid" Naru broke the silence. Mai stomped her feet all the way to her room cursing softly but enough for Naru to hear. He smirked in delight, 'I love that pouting face' he grinned even harder and picoseconds later his neurons processed the information he just sent and blushed. 'damn, why did I think of that!' he flushed more making it more evident. He heard a thud on the floor and saw Mai come out of her room, she dropped her bag on the floor still grumpy.

"Finally, i thought I had to wait another day" he heard Mai growl and smirked.

"Why you! You can just leave you know! Besides I don't want to be with an anti-social, egoistical, narcisstic tea-loving jerk 24/7!" she scowled, but Naru ignored her and picked her bag up. She also noticed that she left her previous bag on the van, Naru walked out of the apartment with his oh-so-ever apathetic face. Mai huffed as she stomped her way all to the van.

**~Lin's POV**

Lin saw Noll carrying Mai's luggage and Mai was looking grumpy ready-to-strangle Naru if she could. He smirked, after the case was solved, Noll told him that Mai would be staying at their apartment. Not seeing any problem to it he agreed of course, and Taniyama would definitely be safer with Noll.

"Narcisstic jerk!" Lin heard Taniyama growl in the backseat while Noll put her luggage in the van. Lin sighed inwardly _'really, these two'_ he sighed again. When Noll was done, he started the engine and drove to their apartment. _'If Taniyama-san was surprised when Noll asked her to move in with him, she'd be more shocked when she arrives at the apartment'_ he chuckled mentally.

_=o(^.^~)/=_

_**~Mai's POV**_

Mai was walking in a red carpeted corridor with expensive paintings and beautiful decorations. They stopped at SPR for a while then transferred into a black porche. 'Argh black again?' she groaned as she helped Naru put her luggage into the trunk. The car was definitely cool, most girls would be wailing right now riding in a super expensive, cool car with two handsome men in the front seat, yeah…if only she were one of those "most girls"' she sighed. When the car stopped, she immediately went to the trunk first to get her luggage before Naru does. He really pisses her off, 'saved by your beautiful face' Mai muttered under her breath. She set down her first luggage and took the other one. She looked at the place where Naru was staying…well where she'll also be staying, temporarily. Her eyes widened.

"You're staying in a hotel?" Mai asked but Naru was already walking ahead of her with her other luggage on his hand.

They passed a bunch of rooms as they continued to walk along the marble corridors, red carpets, expensive vases, chandeliers, paintings etc. 'rich kids' she whispered to no one and they stopped walking in front of two doors. Lin took a card out of his pocket and swiped it while Naru did the same to the other door. Mai was forced to follow Naru since he was bringing her luggage.

(Thud)

Mai gaped, it was a room with a king sized bed with a mahogany study, shelves, a small table and a kitchen and a TV set but it was just a room technically, it was just divided into a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen.

"You can put your clothes in the closet" Naru pointed at the big closet connected to a small table with a mirror.

"If you want to take a bath, the bathroom is at your left, but before that…" Naru sat on the corner of his bed.

"Mai, tea" he said with an evil smirk _'damn narcissist'_ I thought

"Wait? Am I gonna sleep here?" I pointed the bed he was currently sitting.

"Idiot, where else would you sleep, in the bathroom?" I blushed, _'he might not care but I do! I definitely do!'_ I thought

"But if you don't want to, you can sleep beside Lin instead" he said pointing to a door in the corner of the room

"Our rooms are adjacent" he said, I shook my head I don't want to even imagine what would happen to me if I stay with Lin-san. I made my way to his kitchen and boiled some water. I prepared my boss some tea and gave it to him. As usual, not a thank you, I grabbed some clothes from my luggage and made my way into his bath. I was in his tub when I suddenly realized I forgot my shampoo. Leaving me no choice, I used his shampoo instead hoping he would not mind. When I got out of the bathroom, I saw Naru sitting in a chair reading a book.

"We'll go to the laundry house tomorrow" I nodded and put my dirty clothes on the luggage where the rest of my unwashed clothes were.

"And you can put your clothes in there…" Naru pointed at the burgundy painted closet next to a small table with a mirror. I grabbed the other bag and started unpacking my clothes but when I opened the closet I found Naru's set of clothes only that it took half of the space. I blushed again and felt him smirking.

"Uhhh" I trailed

"I don't mind" Naru butted in 'but I do! We actually look like a married couple' I blushed again but before I could open my mouth to complain he did it first.

"Hurry up, the dining room is open until 8:00 pm only" I looked at the digital clock on the table right next to Naru's bed. _'7:30'_ I growled, despite my previous rally I had no choice or else he'd even be grumpier for the rest of the night.

_=o(^.^~)/=_

Dinner was quiet, she was eating with Naru and Lin in the dining area but if it would just end up this way she'd rather eat alone. Mai also noticed the glances towards Naru, _'the girls are probably feasting him in whatever they are daydreaming right now'_ Mai thought as she scooped another mouthful of fish fillet. Lin wiped his mouth and stood up.

"Noll, I'll head back first" he gestured towards Naru and he just nodded.

"Goodnight Taniyama-san" Lin said

"Goodnight Lin-san" I replied. Ever since Lin got back, he had changed. He was much more approachable now and he also responds more whenever I call him.

"Mai hurry up and finish eating" he said while he stared at me.

"You can head back first" I told him but his eyebrows creased.

"Mai you really are an idiot, just why do you think you're living with me right now?" he raised an eyebrow at her. Mai blushed at the word 'living with him'.

"Uhhh...Well…" she trailed

"Good, now don't forget to register that in your brain cells" he sipped his tea. And Mai who was blushing moments ago was now fuming with anger.

"Can you stop reminding me about my intelligence every time you open that rude mouth of yours!" Mai gritted her teeth.

"I can't help reminding an idiot that she's an idiot, he sipped his tea again but he was letting out a small smirk that Mai could only see. Yes, all the years that Mai have endured his tongue, she was able to see that lips curve into an evil grin.

"You narcisstic jerk, you're enjoying this aren't you!" Naru sat up from his chair and gestured her to leave. Mai growled and finished the last bite of dessert and pouted all the way back into his room.

_=o(^.^~)/=_

_Mai roamed the astral realm looking for Gene, but she couldn't find him anywhere. She knew that she shouldn't rely on Gene but for some reason, she didn't want to be alone right now._

"_Gene where are you? I'm so scared right now…" Mai began to cry suddenly, 'really what is wrong with me?' She curled up in her knees and burrowed her face in between them. Feel the space twist and change into a vision and the next thing she knew was that she was being tugged by a woman with jet black hair that reached up to her waist. She figured out that she was reliving a memory of someone but the strange thing is, she couldn't hear anything not even a small decibel. The space began to distort and change. Now she was standing amidst a sea of trees. She still couldn't hear anything though. The woman was still there, her eyes were closed and her lips were making out something she couldn't understand, but she wasn't good at lip reading anyways. An awful feeling crept up to her skin…it was fear. Blood was leaking out from the woman, she didn't look wounded at all yet her blood drenched the soil. Mai didn't know what to do anymore, she was scared. Yes, she saw dreams worse than this but this one is just something she didn't want to see and only god knows why. She was about to scream when a pair of arms grabbed her out of the vision and automatically secured her in his arms._

"_Mai, I'm sorry I was late. Something was blocking me and I couldn't reach you" Gene said as she hushed the young brunette who was now flooding his shirt quietly._

"_Gene I was so scared!" she said in between her sobs. Gene gently rubbed her back and said comforting words but it didn't help. When out of know where a faint sound emerged in the astral plane. Gene protectively covered Mai in his arms but as the sound became recognizable, Mai began calming down. It was the sound of a piano playing a song [A/N: I advise you to listen to this song, and yes it's the song in this scene "Ludovico Einaude- Nuvole Bianche"] Gene never heard of, he can play the piano too and he was called a prodigy in that field as well yet the melody was unheard of but it was amazingly calm and soothing. Mai relaxed as the music filled the air, even Gene did. When Mai pulled away from his embrace she saw from a distance a white grand piano and there was someone playing that instrument but his face was blocked by the piano. She stared for a long time and it worried Gene thinking she'd been here too much._

"_Mai, you should wake up. It's not good for you" but Gene didn't need to do that anymore, for the music was hypnotizing her, telling her to go back to her body, and she did._

_=o(^.^~)/=_

Mai opened her eyes and yawned. She glanced at the watch beside her, it was still 6 in the morning and she didn't feel like getting up. She shifted her position to the right and her eyes widened. Naru's face was inches from hers…she hitched causing their noses to collide gently with each other. She was already blushing and it only became worse when a pair of blue orbs opened and looked straight into hers.

"You really are taking advantage of this aren't you?" Naru smirked. Mai flushed and smacked her pillow on Naru's face.

"NARCISSTIC JERK! WHO WANTS TO SLEEP WITH YOU ANYWAY!" she grabbed her towel and went straight into the bathroom with an audible click.

"I'm sure all of the girls do Mai…" he replied smirking as he got up the bed.

Mai relaxed as the warn trickles of water showered her skin. That jerk was giving her a lot of stress more than usual. She sighed and submerged herself in the tub. She created bubbled under the water but then she accidentally drank some. Mai reached for the surface and coughed out the water she actually swallowed and thought it tasted weird. After she wiped the water on her face her eyes gaped. It was blood….she was swimming in a tub full of blood. She then heard a screeching sound behind the shower curtains and then suddenly a cold wind ripped it all into shreds. There was no one in the bathroom, and the temperature could already be negative Celsius in there that she can even see her own breath. She shivered but then cold arms snaked her shoulders and the invisible culprit whispered.

"Soon you will be mine" and she screamed.

* * *

**Naru's POV**

Naru had to use Lin's bathroom since Mai was taking too long, he remembered one time wherein they waited for nearly an hour and a half for Luella to finish. It made him think just what do girls do in the bathroom, after his brain cells processed what he had just said, he blushed madly…as in BLUSHED. He remembered waking up with Mai inches to his face, her adorable brown eyes locked straight into his, cheeks tinted in a cute pink color and lips slightly parted.

"Damn" he cursed under his breath and turned the HOT shower into a COLD shower.

"Not good…" he muttered as the cold droplets run down his pale skin. Oliver Davis SHOULD NOT act this way! For 18 years, this was the first time he's emitting a little testosterone! He gulped as he remembered very single detail of the scariest wake-up call he had in his entire life.

"Damn it! She's making a mess of my brain!" he grumbled as he turned off the shower and put on his pants. Just as he finished zipping his pants he heard Mai scream he ran out of Lin's room and saw the tall Chinese man knocking on the bathroom where Mai was. Naru quickly took Lin's place but instead of knocking he was banging and desperately prying the door at the same time.

"Mai! Mai! Open up!" he could hear her crying and calling his name and without any further ado, he kicked the door. He saw Mai in the tub crying and on the wall were messages written in blood all saying the same thing:

"Soon you will be mine"

Before Naru could say anything else, he turned to Lin but Mai pinned him to his place when she hugged him from behind with shivering arms.

"Naru please don't leave…I'm so scared" she whimpered and began to cry softly. A wave of heat rushed in Naru's blood, Lin even deserted him…them when he saw him blush on the spot. _'Damn you Lin! I'll cut your salary' _he thought. But obviously, his neurons were already over speeding and his brain was on the verge of breaking down as the kept on sending information of two soft things planted on his bare back. He regretted not being able to wear a shirt.

"Fine, just get dressed, I'll stay like this." He said faltering a little, If Mai was only calm and composed right now, she would definitely tell. Mai on the other hand noticed the situation they were in and broke the world record in the blushing contest. She quickly got dressed and was finished in 3 minutes. Naru never dared to look that way nor even peek in the mirror. His eyeballs were stiff and still or else his damn hormones would kick in…and he'll probably lose it. On the other hand Lin was trying soo hard not to laugh…but his smirk was clearly evident as he texted Madoka.

_"I can't take it anymore, if Noll would not realize his feelings after this, I'll smack the daylights out of him."_

(After that)

Breakfast was silent. Lin watched the two teens in amusement but if this goes any further, they probably won't be able to find out what happened to Mai in the bathroom.

"May I ask what happened Taniyama-san?" Lin broke the eerie silence first.

"Uhmm…I was enjoying the warm water in the tub so I submerged myself but then I accidentally choked some water and when I resurfaced the tub was full of blood then I heard something behind the shower curtain and seconds later it was torn into shreds." Lin noticed her shivering hands and thought how it traumatized her.

"And then, I could feel someone embrace me and it he whispered: 'Soon you will be mine'" Mai continued.

"It's so like you to drown in the tub Mai…" Naru remarked as he took the napkin and wiped his mouth. Mai glared at him. Lin sighed _'so the tension's gone huh?'_

"But Taniyama-san, are you certain the ghost was a male?" Mai nodded.

"Did you have any dreams or any of that prior to our arrival?" Lin continued to bombard her with questions.

"Well, before I had weird about hearing voices but I couldn't see anything. They were muffled voices speaking at the same time so I couldn't understand anything at all. And ever since, I kinda feel like someone's watching me and it's really creepy so I asked Ayako to stay with me in my apartment. But it didn't do anything yet…just on the last case." Lin clasped his hands.

"So that explains your weird behavior then" Naru said.

"Well, you always feel like when you're not watching or no one's watching you, someone would just grab you and pull you somewhere!" Mai huffed as she crossed her arms.

"Oh and speaking of dreams…I had another one last night, but it wasn't anything serious I guess…it's kinda like reliving a memory of someone I guess…" Mai continued

"Tell me about it" Naru crossed his arms.

"Well it's just this time I couldn't hear anything, so it's the opposite of my previous dream. First, I was running in the forest with a woman and then we stopped. The woman was saying something but I couldn't understand any of it. And then there was a bright light and the next thing I know, the woman was covered in blood but she had no wounds. It's like blood is leaking out from her pores. After that Gene pulled me out of the vision and told me to wake up, but I was so scared that I couldn't focus and then there was this song…"

"Song? What song?" Naru asked curiously

"I don't know, but it felt so warm and soothing that I instantly calmed down and was able to go back to my body."

"There was someone else in the astral plane?" Lin asked

"Hmm...i guess, a few meters away from us was a white grand piano and I can only see the silhouette of the person playing the song" Mai finished.

"Oh and before I forget Taniyama-san" Lin handed him a cute silver chained bracelet with charms dangling on its side. And the biggest charm in the center was an unfamiliar symbol enclosed in a round crystal.

"Lin-san, it's pretty! But isn't this too much?" Lin smiled.

"Don't worry Taniyama-san, this time; it's a joint gift from me and Madoka. She the one who picked the bracelet and my shiki's name is engraved in that crystal which means he'll be with you all the time."

"Shikis have names! What's his?" Mai beamed

"Sephirot"

* * *

(At SPR)

The rest of the team excluding Lin who locked himself in his office, the others quietly observed Mai and Naru's behavior. Mai was a little silent but she still replies and Naru is rarely asking for tea! Just when it's time to eat and tea is already served he drinks it.

"John-san, can I join your religion?" Yasu asked

"Why Yasuhara-san?" the priest asked.

"Just in case the world is about to end, oh and I gotta tell mum I love her…" Ayako smacked his head and Yasu grimaced in pain.

"Shounen, I understand your pain. We should put a 'Beware of old hags' sign in this room" Ayako again hit the bull's-eye in monk's face.

"You retarded monk!" Ayako continued her sermon until the bells of the entrance rang. And a man with gray hair popped up on the office.

"Hello this is Shibuya Psychic Research am I right?" the man asked

"Yessir!" Yasu replied.

"There are strange things that have been happening in my school"

* * *

**A/N: okay, I'll say this now. Everyone, I am currently preparing for my college entrance exams right now…I'm a graduating student who's an officer in a super busy club…as in SUPER BUSY! I might be able to update once a month but if I couldn't, I hope you can understand the situation I will be then…THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUOUS REVIEWS…I am so happy and please keep them coming xD! Oh and I tell you, ****THE REAL FUN STARTS NOW! SO LOOK FORWARD TO IT!**

**Oh and I don't own Sephirot…nor FFX 7 xD! Sephie ur sooo cool!**


	7. Chapter 7: Fate or Coincidence?

**A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews…I'm glad you all liked it! I have this goal of reaching 100 reviews for my first story and I promise that I will work hard to earn your reviews xD and I hope you'll spare your time in clicking the review button and make me happy :D.**

**BTW!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ghost hunt. ****And this case as well as the characters involved in the case. All rights belong to my friend brokenblackcat! Thank you so much for the idea and continuous support :D!**

**Also one of the OC's for this case belongs to Treelow955, thank you for being a good friend and supporter xD**

**I love you all! (^^)/**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Is It Fate or Just Pure Coincidence?**

"Hello, is Mr. Shibuya around?" a man in his mid 50's walked in wearing a formal business attire accompanied by a man in black that seemed to be his bodyguard.

"Yes, do you have an appointment with him sir?" I asked politely

"I believe my secretary called you few hours ago, my name is Yamamoto Takara, I came here to hire you for a case" he smiled

"Oh yes, I remember!" I bowed in apology

"Please wait a moment sir; I will call my boss right away. Have a seat please, and would like some tea?" I asked

"Yes please" he said as he sat on the couch opposite to where Takigawa, Ayako, John and Yasu are sitting.

"You're quite young to work in such a place…uhmm…" Yamamoto-san trailed.

"Mai Taniyama sir, and if you think I'm young, you'll be quite surprised later." I smiled and so did everyone. Yamamoto-san cocked an eyebrow and a very curious expression flashed on his face.

"Naru, a client" I knocked on his office door and Lin's door after that, then immediately walked to the kitchen to prepare some tea.

"Let me help you Mai-chan!" Yasu said and followed me to the kitchen.

Yasu boiled the kettle while I prepare tea leaves and mix them to Naru's favorite blend. And I felt a warm brush of air blew past my ear.

"So that's how you make tea Mai-chan…" he said with his cheeky grin.

"Stop that Yasu!" I nudged his elbow then focused on my job.

"So…what's it like in Naru's bed?"he grinned and I looked like all the blood got stuck in face.

"Wha-Wha…. What are you talking about Yasu!" I growled. He wagged his finger and made 'tsk' sounds

"Liars go to hell Mai-chan…I know you sleep in one bed" he grinned evilly. The kettle boiled snapping me out of my state. I smacked Yasu shoulder and he winced playfully.

"Stop thinking about perverted things Yasu! Nothing ha-"suddenly, I remembered hugging Naru while I was naked in the bathroom and he's actually shirtless. I blushed again making Yasu chuckle.

"Mai-chan…you're a bad girl"

* * *

**~Naru's POV**

"Tell me the details Yamamoto-san?" Naru said in his all-is-business demeanor. Lin was right beside him with his trusty laptop in hand. Yamamoto-san smirked and chuckled lightly earning an eyebrow from Naru and Lin.

"I see, I guess you're assistant was right about me getting surprised." He chuckled. And I raised my eyebrow. Mai came out of the kitchen carrying tea with the help of Yasuhara. They both gave each a cup of steaming tea except the bodyguard who refused to drink.

"Well Shibuya-san you will be investigating on the ghost of the high school department. There's another team of specialists investigating the school, but they admitted that it will be hard to monitor two buildings and two ghost in such a big campus." The client said as he sipped the tea.

"There are two ghosts?" Takigawa asked

"Yes, as I said earlier, your case will be the ghost of the high school department and the other ghost haunts the elementary and kindergarten building. The two building are far away from each other and considering how things have been escalating, they advised us to hire another one for the high school building ghost." Takigawa nodded enlightened by the answer.

"How long has this been going?" Naru said

"The rumors of the ghost in the high school building started a month ago. There were two students who died last month, Yamada Aoi and Sato Arashi. Yamada died of heart failure, she had a weak body to begin with. However, Sato died from blood loss, he had a fatal cut on his wrist that seemed to cut his vein in the process, one of the gaurds found his body late at night his classroom when he was doing his rounds. After a few weeks since Sato died, female students wind up injured, bruised, pushed from the stairs, locked in a room for a day or two, ripped uniforms, lost shoes, threatening messages." He set down his finished cup and Mai took it as well as the other empty cups to be washed.

"Are you sure it's not bullying?" Naru questioned the old man.

"Well, that's exactly what I hired you for Shibuya-san. I would like you to investigate if it is a ghost or not so I could give a good discipline to those good children" he smiled.

"If you want I can pay in advance" he handed Naru a check, and I caught a glimpse of it. My mouth dropped.

"500,000 Yen!" I yelled. And Naru glared at me, I also bowed my head in embarrassment.

"That will not be necessary. What school?" Naru said.

"Sacred Gate University" I dropped all of the fragile objects in my hand causing everyone to stare at me.

"Mai! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Takigawa was the first to run and check on her. Mai looked like she snapped out of it and shook her head.

"You don't hide from me young lady…" Ayako stood up tapping her heels and gave her 'the look'

"Is there something wrong with my school Taniyama-san? You reacted after I mentioned it" Yamamoto-san said

"Uhmm…I actually studied there before…that's all" I smiled

"Eeeh! So Mai-chan studied in a super expensive school?" Yasu cheered

"Everybody shut up. Mai clean your mess" Naru said and all was silent. It was this one time where I'm actually grateful though.

"Expect us in two days, we will need one room for the base and sleeping quarters for each pair." He stood up and walked back to his office shutting the door tight. I sighed and rolled my eyes back to our client.

* * *

I leaned on the counter and waited for the water to boil. _'Man, I havent heard of that school for years' _I thought. I was deeply reminiscing about the past...where both of my parents were still alive, although I could'nt remeber much of their faces, at least I could still remember that they love me.

"Mai" I was startled by Naru who touched my shoulder.

"The water is boiling" he said simply

"Ohh, sorry Naru" I turned off the stove and poured hot water into three cups.

"You're dozing off again" I almost dropped the kettle when he whispered into my ear. I could feel his hot breath against the nape of my neck and its sending shivers down my spine.

"I-I I'm sorry, I won't do it again" I stuttered

"Is it bothering you?" Naru asked, his hands were near my sides trapping me into his territory like a predator. I could feel all the blood rush to my face at his closeness.

"W-what is?" I replied trying my best to stay still.

"That school" he asked and somehow I knew what he was trying to say.

"NO! You will not pull me off this case Naru! If you will, I will simply break into that school and no matter how much you try to keep me away I will cling to you like a leech!" I turned around to glare at him, but it backfired when our foreheads touched and his deep blue orbs stare straight into the window of my soul. I could barely see him smirk at the corner of my eyes.

"I never said that I'll pull you off, but then I would like you to cling to me like a leech just as you said, that way, it would keep you out of trouble" he smirked even wider and though I'm trying my best to look mad I can't help but blush our foreheads were touching. Our noses were colliding, our lips were…inches from meeting. I pushed him away, unable it anymore… _'Why is he confusing me after he rejected my confession months ago, stupid Naru, you're raising my hopes…' _I turned my back at him and busied myself into making some tea until his hand made up its way into my shoulder again.

"Mai" he called softly

"Don't worry Naru, I just remembered the time when my parents were still alive taking me to school, hugging and kissing me before I made my way to my classroom. After they died, my teacher took me in and they continued to pay the tuitions of that expensive school for me. When I graduated middle school I decided to live on my own since I couldn't be too abusive of their generosity. I moved here in Shibuya and lived my life as a simple high school girl for three years. I could still remember how much they persuaded me not to move. In the end they agreed, but they still continue to send me some money and sometimes pay for my other expenses, they were really kind people and I miss them so much now." I said as I handed him his tea and made my way to Lin's office leaving him in the kitchen.

* * *

2 days later)

It was seven in the evening and SPR was closed for the day. When we arrived at Naru's room I immediately grabbed my towel and a set of pajamas and headed to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, well, ever since the incident in the bathroom, I was too nervous to be even in a restroom for minutes. It took me 10 minutes to be completely freshened up. When I exited the bathroom I saw Naru reading his book, sitting on the bed. When he saw me he closed it and put it in the bedside then said something I couldn't catch.

_I woke up in a room with no windows. It was all white and it almost blinded me. I looked around the place but it seemed that the only things I can see were the wall, the bed, and the door right in front of the bed where I was currently sitting. The door didn't have a door knob and I wondered why and examined the weird room. The door slowly opened revealing 3 men dressed in white robes. One is pushing a metallic tray with small pans and fear rose up within me. It was all happening too fast and the only things I could register were flashes of syringes and the two men restraining me as I scream and struggle in their grasp. And a horrible, wicked smile from one of those men, I feel disgusted and scared and awful._

I jerked up and saw Naru carrying me to the bed. I instinctively reached my hands and wrapped them in his neck and sobbed in his shirt. He laid me down on my comfortable spot and pulled me tighter rubbing my back in the process. I was shaking to the bones, I don't know if I just had a dream since I was aware of my consciousness, plus, I didn't hit the floor which I normally do when I have visions.

"What happened" Naru asked

"I-I was suddenly in a room with no windows and everything was white then 3 men dressed in white robes came in carrying a tray with syringes and all. And the man had a creepy smile while he was I injecting me with god-knows-what it was!" I said with a shaking voice. He pushed me back to the bed and pulled the covers, Naru is acting so nice I remembered what Yasu said about the world ending and smiled inwardly. Naru is kind in his own ways…

"Sleep" he tucked me into bed and snuggled close to me.

"But I'm scared, what if I had a vision again!" I grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly.

"Don't worry, I'll wake you of you start having nightmares." He took my hand and squeezed it tight yet gently that I can't help but trust his words as my eyelids close hesitantly.

"Good night Mai" I heard Naru say before I completely fall asleep.

**~Naru's POV**

I watched Mai's serene face as she sleeps. She didn't look like she was having a nightmare and I felt relieved. _'Why you always end up in trouble?' _I thought. This girl never ceases to amaze me in her idiocy. No girl would run inside a burning house and found out she was trying to save a ghost from burning. Pulled out from the bed and got dragged by a violent bastard, got burned by spilling hot tea…_'arghhhh!'_ I mentally growled. The amount of danger she attracted could qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records. I sighed again, and I recalled her sudden dazed expression before. Her eyes were blank, void from any emotion, she didn't respond no matter how many times I called her. I gazed at the brunette and brushed the bangs out of her face.

"I hope not…but then…there is a possibility" I huffed and laced my arm in her waist and pulled her closer. I don't trust that bracelet much considering how the necklace failed to stop her from getting dragged out of her room. I lifted her head gently and inserted my free arm and let her head rest on it. It felt much more comfortable now, like hugging a stuffed animal.

"_You could get used to this"_ the familiar voice rand in my head

"Get out Gene" I snarled mentally

"Awww, baby brother's still mad about last time?" Gene said in a wooing voice.

"Shut up"

"_Come on Noll, the best thing about a present is to be given whole heartedly. I wanted YOU to pick the present so that it'll be YOUR gift! Besides, she liked it! She even bought a vase just for those flowers" _I could imagine him smirking at me and I tried hard to keep my small blush. But knowing my twin, I knew he didn't miss it.

"I'm going to sleep" I said flatly and I heard him groan then sigh. After that, it was silent. I glanced at the fragile girl in my arms and remebered how she pushed me away earlier. I mentally slapped myself, _'I know I can never compare to Gene, yet I can't help it, I love her, even if I will more likely end up as a substitute, I'll try, I'll make her fall in love with me. When this case is over, I will tell her how i feel' _and soon, I fell asleep with the woman I fell in love with rest in my arms.

* * *

**~Mai's POV**

I woke up to this irritating beeping sound beside me. I tried to wander my arm in search for that noise while my eyes were still closed and when I reached the bedside table I finally got a hold of the devil called alarm clock. I pressed the button but the beeping won't stop. I grabbed it and attempted to throw it away until I felt a strong grip on my arm. I groggily opened my eyes and met deep blue. I blushed and realized our awkward position. _'We were hugging each other!'_ my psyche was screaming and I felt like wanting to pull the covers and curl into a ball.

"Now I realize why you're always late" I saw him smirking at me. He got up and took the clock away then put it into his part of the bedside.

"Get up…we need to be at school in two hours" he said and grabbed his towel and went in the bathroom

"I'm going in first, don't go back to sleep" he warned me before I heard a click on the door. I yawned and sat up to avoid falling asleep, I don't want an early tongue lashing for now. Bow that I realized it, it's been a long time I didn't have a dream. I looked at the silver chain bracelet and smiled.

"Thank you…" I whispered. Nothing happened to my dismay. I was hoping it would reply 'you're welcome' or even just jingle a little. I sighed and checked my luggage one last time, after I was done, Naru came out of the bathroom shirtless and I quickly looked away discarding the memory lingering on my head. I grabbed my towel and walked past Naru and let the shower take all those embarrassing moments.

"Mai, don't lock the door" I heard Naru say. I unlocked the bathroom door with hesitation. I'm sure Naru won't peek…he's a narcissist after all. He'd rather admire his body than peep in the bathroom. That time was just an emergency! Yeah emergency!

Yamamoto-san greeted us at the garden area near the high school building. I eyed the place, I wasn't surprised like usual though, considering this was once my alma mater.

"Welcome to Sacred Gate SPR, I'll show you to your base" Yamamoto-san escorted us. The floor was carpeted, walls were crème colored with mahogany ridges. Expensive paintings and plants decorated the path. Students we happened to pass by bowed their head and greeted the director but I didn't miss the squeals coming from the girls. The high school uniform didn't differ much from mine. It had the same brown checkered skirt, white short sleeved polo with a necktie matching the skirt, black knee socks and brown leather boots. I was still in elementary so ours were jumpers instead of skirts and overcoats. Is sighed, I know I studied here before but why do I feel overly nostalgic?

"Mai-chan, sumthin wrong?" Yasu took a hold of my waist and his cheeky grin evident. _'What is he planning now?'_ I raised a brow at him. But my focus shifted to large two doors. Everybody gaped when Yamamoto-san opened it revealing 'our base' for this case. Even I was surprised at how much the director prepared for this, he probably wanted the incidents to stop so bad..._'well duh! Mai the school's reputation and the students' safety are at stake here!'_ I mentally slapped myself for being so stupid.

"This will be your base, its connected to our security system so you can have access to the building CCTV cameras" Yamamoto-san smiled at us.

"This will contribute a lot Yamamoto-san. Please leave the rest to us." Naru shook his hand and yamamoto-san smiled back.

"I hope you will put an end to this Shibuya-san" he smiled

"We definitely will" Yamamoto-san smirked and bowed to us as he exited the room. And the moment that he did, Naru was being…Naru as usual.

"Mai, Yasuhara-san and Lin, get the equipment and set it up according to Lin's command. The rest, roam the school and look for the ghost. If you can gather information from the students, much better, I will stay at the base and review the files. Everyone, start working". Naru spun his heel and made himself comfortable on the black leather chair and reviewed the files like he said. I was about to close the door when his majesty called for me.

"Mai before you go, make some tea." He said still on his back. I took this opportunity to bow down like a butler and murmur,

"Yes narcisstic highness" and made way to the kitchen which was in the base thankfully. When the tea was ready, I gently laid it on Naru's table and out of my stupid habits…waited for a thank you that will never be heard. When I realized this, I started to walk out of the room only to be grabbed.

"Mai" Naru said. I raised my brow in confusion _'what does he want now?'_

"Stay here" he said with all seriousness in his gorgeous deep blue eyes. I flushed, this is kinda awkward.

"But I still have to help Lin and Yasu" I fidgeted and started playing with the hem of my purple sleeveless blouse.

"I can't have you being dragged along the corridors for the second time Mai" he was smirking this time and a vein popped in my forehead.

"You jerk! I hate you!' I stomped my foot in frustration.

"I'm sure you don't Mai" he continued smirking at me then went back to his beloved files. I slumped in the couch mentally cursing. Minutes later, the room looked like the security base of a secret organization, fully loaded with cameras, walkie-talkies, equipment and other ghost hunting stuff. Naru was about to open his mouth to give _'orders'_ when a soft knock interrupted his speech.

"Shibuya-san, I'm sorry to interrupt but I would like to introduce some people to you." Yamamoto-san peeked.

"You may come in Yamamoto-san" Naru obliged. When he entered a girl and a boy about Naru's age I think (intuition) came in with the headmaster. The guy black hair and captivating emerald eyes, I even heard Ayako muffle a squeal, he is definitely handsome…and in Naru's level at that. The girl on the other hand had the same black hair but her eyes were grey, and she was also gorgeous like that man. Her straight black hair flowed up to her waist but I noticed how it elegantly curled on its ends. She was wearing glasses and…very…glaring eyes…but she didn't give out an ominous aura at all. It was probably just her usual expression…_'hell Naru wore that all the time' _I grinned.

"They are representatives from the other team working in my school" he smiled and the guy stepped up and introduced himself.

"My name is Alexis Schyler" he bowed slightly. I can tell he's not used to it, being a foreigner and all. **(A/N: she figured out from the name xD)**

"Anise Sinclair" was all the girl said, not even trying to bow like the guy did.

"I'm sorry our leader and the rest of our team our busy at the moment, Mr. Davis" Alexis looked straight at Naru who remained stoic.

"That is not a problem, seeing we are busy as well." He replied.

"If you would like a hand, we will not hesitate to help you out. But seeing Oliver Davis's presence, I think it would not be required." Alexis said with an unchanging expression.

"We also, would extend our help if you ever needed some Alexis Schyler" Naru let out a small smirk escape his lips. _'ohhh! What an overconfident bastard he is!'_ I mentally groaned.

"**That's very thoughtful of you Mr. Davis" **the girl named Anise said…somehow I could understand… she smirked as Alexis motioned for them to leave.

"Well, we will be taking our leave Mr. Davis "I watched both of them leave the base and I think it was my imagination but Anise was walking out with an evil smirk. I chilled at the thought of it.

"Yasu research, John escort Hara-san to trace the whereabouts of the spirit along with Matsuzaki-san, Takigawa-san. Mai, Lin and I will stay at the base to interview the students." Everyone nodded and quickly went back to work, and I knowing well what to do invaded the kitchen to make Naru's beloved tea.

"It was horrible! I left my belongings in the classroom and when I got back my things were ripped, trashed and my desk were full of horrid writings" the student said while clinging unto Lin's arm. I sighed inwardly, I knew it would be like this though. It's been hours interviewing bitchy girls fawning over Lin and Naru. When they entered the base I could see them look at me with engrossed expressions and I swear if they weren't clients and rich kids, they'd go home with a few fractures and dislocated joints already.

"Next" Naru said pinching the bridge of his nose. I can tell he is greatly annoyed, I took his cup and refilled it with tea. The moment I handed it to him he gulped a large amount of tea leaving the cup empty again. '_He really can't stand this'_ I mentally noted myself…'_I guess I shouldn't piss Naru off within the next 24 hours'._

"Name" Naru said. She handed him a card and I noticed it had her number. _'Bitch'_ I cursed.

"Well Hyuuga-san, tell me what happened to you" Naru said returning the card. _'Hah! Eat that!'_

"You may call me Ami, uhmm, Kazuya" Naru cocked an eyebrow clearly disturbed. The girl noticed how irritated he was and played sweet-innocent girl.

"I-I'm sorry, I lived in America for quite a long time and I still am not used to the way people address each other" she pleaded only to be glared by Naru. _'Uh oh, this girl should stop for her sake'_

"Well you better get used to it Hyuuga-san" Naru said putting emphasis on her last name. I saw her flinch and roll her eyes but my mouth dropped at her determination. She crossed her legs giving us a clear view on her thighs '_my, how bold!' _I thought. She stared at Naru looking for any sign of giving in but Naru remained stoic to her dismay.

"You should stop wasting our time Hyuuga-san, we are very busy" Naru said with an icy tone. I saw her twitch in discomfort when Naru said that, poor girl.

"it was already late in the afternoon when the student council meeting ended, I was on my way back to the classroom to retrieve the things that I left. When I got there I saw a boy staring at the window and…." She looked down avoiding our gaze.

"And what Hyuuga-san?" Naru asked getting impatient.

"Well he looked like my boyfriend from behind so I wrapped my arms around him because I thought he was waiting for me." She said with her eyes still averting ours.

"When he turned around It was Arashi, and when I realized that he was supposed to be dead I screamed and tried to run from the classroom, but he yanked me back and pinned me to the wall breaking my arm and whispered in my ear."

"What did he say?" Naru cocked an eyebrow

"Where is she…that's what he said" she rubbed her arms trying to calm her nervous insides of reliving the memory of that day. Naru closed his notebook and sat his pen down.

"That is all Hyuuga-san, you may leave" Hyuuga-san nodded and quickly left. When the door slammed shut I suddenly have this big urge to pee. Naru noticed me fidgeting and displayed a curious face.

"Mai tea, but before that why are you fi-"

"I'm sorry Naru, nature's calling! Be right back!" and with that I left a certain narcissist hanging in the base while I was running in the corridors looking for a bathroom. When I finally found one I quickly entered a cubicle and _'relieved myself'._ I was about to get out when I heard a faint whimper. When I was out of the cubicle i saw a girl in her uniform crying in front of the mirror, she was startled when she saw me exit the cubicle.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She had long straight copper hair with bangs and wavy ends, fair white skin that complimented his bright emerald eyes.

"I-I" she stuttered trying to fight back the tears. I ran to her side and patted her back causing her to unleash soft sobs as she knelt to the ground. It was by this time that I saw the scars on her hands and wrist also a purplish bruise on her thigh.

"Uhmm, my name is Mai, I work with the ghost hunters here but I'm still a high schooler and I'd be glad to hear and listen to whatever problem you have" I smiled warmly at her hoping that it would get her to open up. She looked at me with teary eyes.

"I'm Minami Hikaru" she mumbled softly. _'Minami? That sounds familiar' _I stared blankly into the air.

"You interviewed me with Shibuya-san a while ago"

"Ohhh, you're one of the students that got attacked by errrr…Arashi right? Oh wait! Did he try to attack you again?" I said in a frantic voice but she shook her head.

"Arashi-senpai is actually a very kind person. The reason why I'm crying is because I'm being bullied Mai-san and I don't think I could take it anymore" she sobbed again and I hugged her close. _'Poor thing, having to go through the harshness of high school' _I rubbed her back soothing her cries.

"You see-"

**KRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!**

'_Damn bell! We were having a heart-to-heart talk here…'_ I cursed inwardly. When I looked back at her, she was already washing her face and straightening the wrinkles on her uniform.

"Uhhhmmm…I'm sorry Mai-san, I have to go back."

"Don't worry about it, if you want you could talk to me later after your dismissal" I saw her lit up and smile for the first time since I saw her.

"Really? Thank you Mai-san! And I really think you should know about this. I'm so sure that it would help you in your case. Meet me at the garden at the back of the building" She smiled then ran off quickly muttering something about being late. I giggled and made my way out of the bathroom as well just to collide into something hard that made me throw off my feet. I winced at the impact my butt made with the hard, cold floor. I could hear bou-san's voice not far away calling my name, and another female voice. I heard someone besides me wincing and he said something in what supposed to be English I think.

"**Owww…sorry…did I hurt-"**when I noticed how he cut off his sentence, I looked up and my eyes went wide. I saw a familiar man with dark green hair and onyx eyes who also looked wide as mine. He was about to say something when bou-san yanked me into one of his…death hugs.

"Mai really, are you okay?" he ruffled my hair and then glared at the innocent man, who I accidentally bumped into.

"Bou-san! Stop glaring at him, it was my fault" I warned him to fix his glare and _'thunk'_ Ayako's bag met his head in a swift blow.

"You old man! You suddenly went off running and then here now I see you picking a fight!" Ayako said.

"Mai…" I felt arms wrap me and pull me into a tight but gentle hug. Knowing who it was I hug him back.

"Kyouya…I missed you…I thought you were in New York" I pulled away from the hug to stare at his beautiful onyx eyes.

"I'm here on an OJT, and you seem to be the same klutz three years ago" he smirked, I giggled, I haven't seen that smirk for years now.

"Well, is that a good thing?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Probably" I hit his arm playfully and then he chuckled. I heard someone cough and caught my attention. I saw bou-san and Ayako stand like parents wanting an explanation. I giggled again.

"Ayako, Bou-san, this is Kyouya, he's my childhood friend and also the son of the teacher I was living with before. Kyouya this is Matsuzaki Ayako and Takigawa Houshou but we call him bou-san, they're my coworkers" Kyouya bowed while the two nodded. I then turned to kyouya's female company. She had long dark brown hair and bright hazel eyes that I almost thought were amber. She was fidgeting uncomfortably and when she noticed I was staring at her, she smiled shyly and I smiled back.

"**Uhmm…Cloi…if we don't go back, Alexis will probably wonder where we went and the others might worry" **although I could understand some of the things she was saying, the words I formed in my head remained incoherent. But I still knew she called him '_Cloi'. _I looked at him confused, he sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry Mai, I know you wanted to ask a lot of questions and I do want to talk to you more, but, she's right. I have to go now, give me your number and I'll text you if I'm free" he smiled, I took my cellphone and we exchanged numbers as well as goodbyes as I watch them walk away. Bou-san poked my back and Ayako sighed.

"Mai, we should head back to the base, we were actually asked by Naru to fetch you from the bathroom because you were taking too long" Ayako finished then I gasped when a sudden realization hit me.

"Oh crap…tea" then I ran to the base.

* * *

**_~Noll's POV_**

'_What the hell is taking her so long?'_ I sighed and grabbed my tea cup only to find it empty. I sighed and rubbed my temples as I continue to wait for a certain brunette to come back to the base. I saw the rest of the team enter but still not Mai around. Another three minutes passed and I couldn't take it anymore...

"Matsuzaki-san and Takigawa-san, could you go and fetch Mai, she went to the bathroom ages ago and she still isn't back" I said while flipping a page in the stack of papers that sat mercilessly on my desk.

"Naru-bou of you're worried about her why don't you go yourself" Takigawa-san said

"Unfortunately, unlike the others who have free time on their hands, I have a lot of files to look over. Do you want to switch places then Takigawa-san?" I said and eyed him with my stoic face.

"No thanks" he shrugged.

"Good, now would you please leave and do what you're asked to do. I would like to have my tea now" I swiveled my chair and engrossed myself into one of the files on my desk.

"You know what Naru-chan, sometimes I think Mai is paid mostly because of tea" Yasuhara said behind my back. I ignored him though, it's a waste of my time to talk back, but Mai does make tea more than paperwork. The clocked ticked until 15 minutes passed and the trio still hadn't returned. I was about to stand and call them myself when the door banged revealing a frantic Mai.

"I'm sorry Naru! I'll go make tea right now" she quickly stormed into the kitchen and later came back with fresh steaming cups of tea. I took the cup that she gave and sipped it. Warm water rushed my throat calming down all the nerves in my body. _'Finally'_ I sighed. When she was done distributing the tea she rushed back to the papers I asked her to categorize. A sudden gust of wind entered through the window and I saw her skirt fly up revealing more of her soft, creamy thighs. I froze at what I was suddenly thinking and nearly slapped myself for it_ 'damn hormones!' _I groaned. I saw her ran to the window and whimper.

"Naruuuu….sorry but the paper flew. I'll go get it" she said reaching for the door but before she could exit I called her.

"Don't go for too long"

"o'kayyy"

~Mai's POV

I walked past a number of trees and bushes yet I still couldn't find the paper. I stood up and stretched.

"Where the heck is it?" I muttered. Then I walked again searching until a huge…as in HUGE tree caught my eye. I walked nearer until its shade covers me.

"Wow, it's so cool…and relaxing" the ambiance was very light and peaceful, I had this crazy urge to roll down and fall asleep. I shook my head trying to avoid the great deal of temptation. When I got even closer to the trunk I noticed there was someone sitting there…and whoever he was, he's holding the god forsaken paper I've been looking for. I approached the man cautiously.

"Uhmm, excuse me but that paper belongs to me" his attention shifted from the paper to me. He had dark ebony hair and….and….beautiful amethyst eyes and pale skin. He's overall GORGEOUS and I held back drooling over him but I can't help being drawn by those eyes…they are really beautiful. When I snapped back to reality, I blushed ten shades of red and I found myself kneeling in close to his face! My god, he probably thinks I'm some random weirdo now.

"Here" he handed me the blasted chunk of dead wood with a small yet noticeable smile. And I just can't help it anymore…I don't know but I feel like a magnet. I want those eyes to be mine. I stared at him, he stared at me, and there was an awkward silence between us. Until I broke it,

"Your eyes…they're beautiful"

* * *

**A/N: So I want to tell you that I probably won't be able to touch my computer for a while. School is gonna start tomorrow and I belong to the school's Executive Council and mind you I'm really busy, aside from that I still have to study cause my entrance exam for the school I'm applying for in college will be on August 1 or 2 already! Please pray for me…I really need your prayers and miracles, ****thanks a lot for those who reviewed! ****I love you all so much, and again please leave another one after reading this xD.**

**~ohh and kyouya's female company belongs to Treelow955 as I said before.**

**And if you want to suggest OC's I don't mind. But I probably wont use them yet thought…but don't worry I will, there will be a chapter…no….chapters full of OCs later in the future xD!**

**You can pm me and give me the following details:**

**Name:**

**Description:**

**Personality:**

**Ability: (yessss…I'm asking for psychics xD but if you want a normal OC then at least tell me what they specialize in like for example…Yasu)**

**History: (This is optional, it's not like I'll most likely state it in the story, well, just in case)**

**~That's all and I'm REALLY SORRY but most likely I really won't be able to update for two months T_T. I made this chapter longer to lessen my guilt and I hope it'll make up for it. Please REVIEW and THANK YOU FOR READING, also for those who checked out my other story "Don't leave me" THANKS!**


	8. Chapter 8: Arashi and Aoi

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this was so late xD**

**Finaaaallllleeeeeyyyy! My college entrance exam is long gone…it was (sorry for the term) Fucking hard! University of the Philippines is not just something huh? I don't think I'll pass the exam T_T I'm hoping for a miracle wahhhh….plus the exam is right minus wrong! God! Anyways…its Sunday here and my quarter exams in school is on Tuesday, but sadly I don't have the motivation to study Physics so here I am writing a new chap xD.**

**Noll: Che, that exam is like alphabet to me…**  
**Me: Shut up Noll! And if its alphabet it's probably an ancient one to me.**  
**Noll: Because you're stupid**  
**Me: You….*takes hamster out of the cage***  
**Me: Noll, meet Boomer. Boomer, meet your dinner.**  
**Noll:…**

**P.S. if you are ever wondering…I really named my hamster Boomer, because he's too big to be called a Siberian hamster xD**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Sato Arashi & Yamada Aoi**

"Your eyes, they're beautiful"

I said unconsciously as I kept on being drawn to his amethyst orbs. I felt his hands caress my cheeks and unknowingly I leaned into his palm until I heard a begrudgingly icy voice behind me.

"Mai" Naru said with a dangerous tone causing my heart to skip 2 beats. _'Ah shit…tea'_ was all I concluded.

"I didn't pay you to flirt around with students" he said and glared menacingly at the boy with beautiful eyes. I even flinched at the way he tried to mentally kill the poor guy, and hell! We were not even flirting!

"Looks like your boss wants you badly now…" the violet-eyed boy declared, I was totally amazed at how he seems to cast off Naru like he wasn't even in the background. He handed me the paper and gave me a very small smile that only I could see.

"I hope we'll see each other again" he said, and strangely as I watch his back become distant, I could feel somewhere inside me that we will.

* * *

I set Naru's cup beside him where he's having and glaring contest with the screen. He didn't look up nor move an inch when I did, and there was this suffocating aura that he kept on releasing that made everybody in the base not dare to breathe.

_'Oh man, he's mad. Am I gonna get fired?'_

"Uhmm….hello?" a high-pitched voice tore the silence. I saw Hikaru hesitantly poking her head inside the base.

"What do you want" Naru said icily, I saw the poor girl flinch at his tone.

"N-Naru she wants to talk to me" I said, hoping that he would just stop asking.

"Why not tell everybody?" he crossed his arms like he's some evil prince in a cursed kingdom.

"Please Naru, she has problems and I want to help her. don't take out your wrath on the poor girl and if its someone it should be me because I'm the useless person in the team who can't do her job properly, sleep during working hours, loiter around the campus "Flirting" as you call it and most of all cause nothing but trouble. So let me hear this girl out and then you can fire me later, got it?" I said in a calm sarcastic voice and grabbed Hikaru out of the base and walked inside their classroom.

"Mai, I'm sorry I-"I hushed her with my finger and smiled.

"I'm sorry, I forgot our deal and I was in a kind of "base-arrest" at that time. But anyway, let's not talk about that. What's bothering you Hikaru?" I held her hand comfortingly and I saw her relax.

"Uhmm-will you believe what I say?" I gave her another smile and squeezed her hand.

"Trust me"

"A-Arashi is a kind person! He-he would never do this kind of things!" she said

"But Why..? Why does he keep attacking women? Is he seeking revenge?"

"Arashi-sempai is looking for Aoi-sempai…"I saw her tears trail down her cheeks.

"Aoi? The girl who died before Arashi?" she nodded.

"Arashi-sempai and Aoi-sempai are lovers. It's true that Aoi-sempai has a weak body but it's not the reason she died and Arashi-sempai knew that. Aoi-sempai was abused by a teacher with the help of some students. He raped her and hid her body somewhere in the school. That's why Arashi-sempai keeps on asking his victims _"where is she?"_Arashi-sempai tried reason out with the administrators but he has no evidence to prove it and that night while he was looking for some traces in the classroom. He-he" she sobbed hard and I hugged her and rubbed her back.

"But how come you know all of this? Why didn't you tell us before when we were interviewing you?"

"I was scared! Because I was the one who was supposed to be molested that time but a Aoi-sempai saved me! All I cared about was myself, I should be the one who's dead and not Aoi-sempai!"

Bang!

We both looked up startled by the noise and saw a boy with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Hikaru!" he hurriedly grabbed Hikaru from my arms and glared hard at me.

"What did you do to her!" he hissed but Hikaru gripped his wrist and shook her head.

"Mai was helping me out! She wasn't doing anything bad to me Arata!" I was about to say something when the temperature dropped all of a sudden. Mist slowly began to seep from holed and open spaces.

"_Where is she" _

I heard and eerie voice. The guy called Arata quickly took a protective stance in front of Hikaru, while I slowly backed myself to the door just in case.

**"_WHERE IS SHE!"_**

And with that, a strong gust of wind blew the desks along with the chairs away. Hikaru gave a scream while Arata shielded her from whatever may fly in front of the. As for me, I was about to be hit by a wonderful desk until a bright white light shun the damn desk a few meters away. I exhaled the air I was holding in a few minutes ago and clutched the bracelet with my free hand.

"Thank you…and I have to remind myself to thank Lin-san later…" I whispered to myself. When I looked up I held my breath again coming face to face with the ghost called Arashi. Silver hair, three scratches on his left cheek and hateful yet scarred brown eyes were looking at me, somehow pleading. The door opened revealing the rest of the gang with frantic faces.

"Matsuzaki-san, Takigawa-san, Brown-san" Naru immediately ordered. But I screamed.

"NO!"

They stopped chanting immediately and looked at me with shocked faces. I focused on Arashi, he's bangs covered his eyes and was not moving an inch. I slowly tried to reach for his face hoping he wouldn't get violent.

"Arashi…" I whispered not a single sound, not a single flex on his muscles. He was still as a rock. I slowly cupped his cheek and thankfully, he didn't try to eat my hand away. I gently caressed it with my thumb and spoke as lovingly as ever.

"I'll find her, I promise." He looked up and to my shock, I saw him crying silently, his eyes hoping a lot from those words.

"I can't leave this place no matter how much I wanted to look for her. I just couldn't take it anymore, Aoi never deserved this." He said quietly. I gave him a warm, reassuring smile.

"So do you…" he placed his placed hands on top of mine and whispered.

"Thank you…"

* * *

I was sitting quietly at the base. Bou-san sent Hikaru and Arata to the main gate for safety. Hikaru told the rest of the gang about what really happened to Yamada Aoi and Sato Arashi. Naru immediately talked to the director about this matter and to his shock, he was never informed about this part of information.

"Mai"

I knew that voice. Only one person could say my name like that and make me look up to him like reflex. But tonight I didn't, I felt so light inside. All I'm thinking about is finding Aoi and bringing Arashi to rest. I didn't flinch nor blink an eye, just like a stone. Minutes later I could hear more murmurs all around me but I didn't bother to entertain it. I could feel nothing, my mind is drifting and though my eyes were staring at the floor, it was not the red carpet that I could see. Instead I was looking through a bunch of doors. I was opening and closing each one of them hoping that I could find the right one. After minutes of looking through doors I finally found it.

"_No! Please don't do this to me sensei!"_ I saw the younger version of Hikaru trying to pry the teachers arm away. She was pale and her breathing was ragged. Then there was a girl who was carrying a metal bar and pointing it to the molester in front of them. Long chestnut hair and big brown eyes just like mine glared bravely at the teacher trying to lay his hands on them.

"_Hikaru! RUN!" _She screamed as she threw the metal bar hitting the teacher's forehead in the process causing blood to gush out from the wound. Hikaru who was completely paranoid at that time ran for life leaving Aoi alone with the culprit. When she was about to leave as well, a pair of big hands gripped her ankle causing her to fall. She tried to kick him in the face but he blocked it successfully.

"_Oooh~ trying to be a heroine aren't we?"_ he said maliciously, licking her thighs with his disgusting tongue. She fought like a cat, but it was useless, she felt weak. He beated her endlessly, pulled her hair and making her do things that violates her innocence, and she couldn't fight back. With one last thrust and the teacher was finally satisfied and whispered in her ear.

"_Try and show all these things and you would experience living in hell" _he licked her face one last time and left Aoi sobbing on the floor. She felt a sudden pain in her chest and vomited some blood, she's having an attack now and she couldn't even feel the pain anymore, she became numb. She let her last tear fall and whisper.

"_I'm sorry Arashi…"_

It's probably the next day since the teacher entered the classroom very early in the morning and was shocked to find Aoi dead on the floor. Consumed by fear, he carried her body away and wiped out all the blood leaving no trace of evidence.

The scene shifted and I saw Arashi pick up a hairpin that seemed to belong to Aoi. The moment he made contact with the hairpin, he collapsed to his knees and an overwhelming pain flowed through his body. He was seeing obscene images containing Aoi and his homeroom teacher and he wasn't even there to protect her.

He started looking for some traces of dried blood but he couldn't see any. He tried to complain to the teachers but they shoved him away saying that he has no evidence. He tried to talk to Hikaru to be a witness but she was too traumatized and her parents as well as her childhood friend casted him away. One night he overheard a group of girls talking.

"_Ami! What will we do! What if the police found out! I'm so scared Ami!"_

"_Shut up! Nobody will know that we were bullying Hikaru and helped sensei capture her. Sensei even said that we shouldn't be worried since he took care of everything and all would stay a secret…our secret."_

Arashi ran from that place and went back to the classroom and slammed his desk hard. Unknowingly, he was caught off guard when a baseball bat hit his head from behind sending him half unconscious. Although it was blurry he saw the teacher's face who was smirking evilly holding a knife. He slit his wrist and blood flowed out of him.

"_Okay Romeo, you should commit suicide since little Juliet died and you couldn't take the loneliness anymore 'kay?" _he grinned like a mad man as black welcomed Arashi's sight. With the last of his strength he whispered.

"_Where are you Aoi?"_

"_I'm right here…" _I quickly shifted my gaze toward the voice and run past doors.

"WHERE! WHERE ARE YOU AOI!" I screamed. Something cold grabbed my ankle and I looked below, there was a purplish hand gripping my ankle, its cold skin pressed through mine sending chills down my spine. I was behind the school building in a small container beside the incinerator.

"_I'm…here…"_

* * *

Suddenly, I flinched earning gasps from the gang.

"Mai!" Ayako hugged me like there was no tomorrow.

"Jou-chan! What the hell happened to you! You weren't responding to anything that we do or say! You weren't moving, FUCK! You weren't even blinking!" he groaned covering his face.

"Young lady! You scared me beyond death now! Your eyes were void of any emotion! It was blank! If it weren't for your pulse and warm temperature I nearly thought you were dead!" Ayako screamed while caressing my brown locks. From the corner of my eye I could see Masako hiding her mouth behind her kimono, Lin-san wiping sweat off his face and Naru relieved sigh, which was weird, I never thought he's be worried. I suddenly stood up startling everyone once again. 'Man I'm becoming a girl full of surprises' I though inwardly. I could see Naru about to retort but I beat him to it.

"I found her"

I was standing near the incinerator, looking at the police taking Aoi's body away. The director took care of everything after that. The teacher was sent to a lifetime imprisonment while the girls…I heard something about expulsion. But oh well, case closed. I looked sadly at the place.

"I'm sorry" I said, but it came out as a whisper. I felt something cold wipe stray tears from my face. When I looked up I saw Arashi with a gentle smile.

"_Don't be, thank you very much Mai. We can finally be together…" _I saw Aoi beside him with a beautiful smile on her face. Her hands laced with Arashi's and I breathed out, something heavy was lifted out of my chest. I returned them a smile and a faint glow surrounded me and they were no longer in sight…

We were now back in the base tidying things up. I was rummaging through the wires when I felt hands grip mine.

"Mai we need to talk…" oh it was everybody's stuck up narcissist.

"Oh, yeah, when will get my things from your condo Naru?" I said straightforwardly.

"Mai…" he warned and yanked me out of the base earning malicious stares from the team, minus Masako her's were menacing.

"Naru you're hurting me!" I said and pried away from his grasp. I saw him sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose

"I'm sorry…" he said and my eyes went wide.

"Please...I-"

"Shibuya-san" Naru was cut off by an elderly tone. We both saw the director with his ever unpredictable smile sprawled across his wrinkled face.

"Is something wrong Yamamoto-san?" he said trying hard to hide his annoyed face.

"Well, first of all I would like to thank you for the job well done, second I have a new favor to ask from you" he grinned._ 'I don't like that…'_ I thought.

"What might that be Yamamoto-san?" Naru said tapping his foot. 'impatient bastard' I said inaudibly.

"We would like you to collaborate with EPA on their case. Unfortunately, things have escalated there that I'll have to suspend classes according to their request. I told them that I'll request the assistance of SPR since they are already done with their case so that the case will be solved even faster. The other members seem hesitant but their leaser said it would be very helpful. So Shibuya-san, I'll be adding another ¥500,000. Can I count on you?" he grinned.

"Very well Yamamoto-san, if you would give my team some time to prepare…" Naru said crossing his arms.

"That would not be necessary, I already have everything ready, trust me" he said he walked away but then stopped and turned to us again.

"Oh, and please ask Rain if you ever need assistance. I will not be here for a while apparently" he smiled, a black clad butler came and bowed to us.

"My name is Rain Shibuya-sama, this way to the elementary building." He said, I called the team and told them about the news, they were shocked at first but they couldn't do much about it anyway. We boarded a limo and all our equipment was handled by the staff. Riding from this car, we realized…I mean, they realized how big the campus was considering it was a 20 minute ride from the highschool department to the elementary department. And as I was looking at it now from afar, a wave of nostalgia rushed though my body.

"_Mai neechan" a sweet little voice emerged beside me. I realized I was in a fluffy bed with lots of stuffed animals, a frilly pink blanket and a cute dark green-haired child with black eyes lay beside me._

"_Hmmm…" I said sleepily._

"_let's play hide and seek" she said, her eyes showed a hint of excitement_

"_okay" I yawned ,'damn I'm too sleepy for this' _

"_Come find me 'kay" she smiled._

Suddenly I was awakened by a loud noise. Everybody went out of the car ad say a newly collapsed building and a bunch of teens, one has dark green hair and onyx eyes who was helplessly shouting through the pile of rubble.

**"NAOMI!"**

* * *

**I only noticed it now, but I also saw apricot hair and porcelain skin wearing a bright yellow uniform with flower embroideries. It was only then I realized who they are.**

**"Sensei? Kyouya?"**

**A/N: whahahaha I'm done! Yeah! O finished it within a day! I broke my record oh my god! Inspiration can be something xD**

**So again I'm sorry for keeping this too long and after exams I finally have the free time again WEE!~**

**Hey let me think if this chap is boring…I look forward to reading your reviews everyone LUV YA!3**


	9. Chapter 9: The Abused Children

**A/N: Hi guys! i just want to promote my new story "Dont leave Me" so pleasecheck it out xD**

* * *

**Summary: Naru found Gene and now he is leaving is now in charge of the Japanese branch SPR. Mai's first collapse changed it all,was it a good thing or the worst thing that would happen to both people twisted by fate.**

**"Madoka...Mai collapsed" **

**"What!" "**

**Noll you're going to regret this..." **

**"Goodbye Naru..." **

**Will this be a happy ending? Or a tragic love story? Find out! MaixNaru**

* * *

**Oh and btw…I might use your OCs as antagonists…but with a good purpose. PM me if you ever loathe the idea. It's just that, I think SPR is getting too crowded xD**

**_With Noll and Boomer_**

**Noll: *pokes the hamster***  
***Shock***  
***Pokes again***  
**Boomer: *stares blankly with cute sleepy eyes***  
**Noll: *eyes widen a fraction***  
**Gene: *Enters the room suddenly***  
**Hey there baby brother!**  
***stopped on his tracks***  
**Noll: What now Gene?**  
**Gene:…YOU!... you think he's cute!**  
**Noll: *glares with a very very faint blush on his cheeks***

**OH AND WARNING! this chapter contains graphic violence and torture...just for this chapter only...Sorry so uhhh how do I say this? Brace yourselves?**

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Abused Children**

~Recap~

Suddenly I was awakened by a loud noise. Everybody went out of the car ad say a newly collapsed building and a bunch of teens, one has dark green hair and onyx eyes and he is currently & helplessly shouting through the pile of rubble.

"NAOMI!"

I only noticed it now, but I also saw apricot hair and porcelain skin wearing a bright yellow uniform with flower embroideries. It was only then I realized who they are.

"Sensei? Kyouya?"

* * *

**~Mai's POV**

Kyouya immediately whipped his head as his name was called. The woman on the other hand shakily went towards Mai.

"Mai-chan, why are-"and the woman fainted before she could even finish her sentence.

"MOM!" Kyouya ran towards her, luckily Lin managed to catch her before she met the floor. Then a boy with jet black hair and amethyst eyes stepped in front of the commotion.

"Everyone, back to the base. Cloi don't worry, we will look for your sister but for now, it's best for everyone to settle so that we could start working" He looked at the young man and though he wanted to oblige, his words were the law of the team.

"Y-YOU!" Mai shouted in disbelief also gaining every single person's attention. The young boy with amethyst eyes realized that she was pointing at him and slightly smirked.

"Hello Mai-san, it seems we did meet again after all" he displayed a small smirk before going inside the car.

"Mai, if you stand there like an idiot, we're going to leave you behind" Naru said strictly.

"Jerk" she replied and hastily went inside the limo with the rest.

* * *

We entered a two-door room which seemed to be labeled as _'the base'_ and so far, it seemed similar to ours. Monitors neatly stacked in rows, four couches forming a square with a table in the middle, red carpet, and what a coincidence…the place to make tea, the kitchenette. We all settled in the couch while sensei is brought to a room in the base Ayako and a girl with long ash brown hair. I looked at Kyouya whose face is etched with worry and tugged on his white shirt. He gave me a small smile and led me to one of the couched and sat beside me.

"What's going on?" Naru asked…Uhhh…more like demanded.

"Alexis…" the amethyst-eyed boss simply looked at the young man with ebony hair and slate grey eyes and nodded in response.

"Let me start from the beginning, we were hired because kids began to end up missing and then after a few days be found with cuts and bruises. The parents of the children were furious, muttering something about security. The school tightened its security to the max after the complaints and a number of student withdrawals but still. They end up missing, when they asked one of the children they would always reply that they went there themselves and having no recollection about the injuries they got."

"Well, that is weird…" bou-san muttered.

"While we were investigating, we found the hotspot for paranormal activity and we were trying to exercise it earlier but then the ghosts got violent and even destroyed the building." Alexis continued.

"So 'what exactly are the ghosts'?" Ayako asked.

"Based on our research, the building was once an orphanage and though it's still a theory but we inferred that the owners abuse children in which is being supported by the injuries of the kids when they are found. The ghosts of the owners Akagi Rido and Akagi Hisa were confirmed earlier during the exorcism. And the ghosts of the kids were also seen on tape but so far have not been hostile towards the students." He replied and everyone nodded in understanding. Well that is when Yasu broke the tense silence.

"Uhmm…sorry for the question but what's with the commotion earlier?" Yasu said while raising his hands like he's innocent and he's being excused innocently. I looked at Kyouya who exhaled and smiled softly.

"During the exorcism, my sister ran inside the building for reasons I don't know, mother was chasing her but when she entered the building the area began to shake and windows broke then the walls began to crumble. The debris blocked the entrance so we couldn't enter." He looked at me with sad eyes and I squeezed his hand and gave him a comforting smile.

"Let's all get ready; we need to look for Cloi's sister before it gets too dark. Cloi, Lia and Anise accompany them." the man with amethyst eyes said, his tone is like authority itself and everyone including SPR nearly obeyed it like slaves. Even I felt my hairs standing. We were lead by the three people mentioned to two rooms adjacent to the base and each other. _'Well this is convenient…'_ I thought inwardly. We separated when we reached the doors that seemed to belong to males and the other for females. I heard Ayako gap when we entered the room.

"There's a freakin chandelier in here!" she exclaimed and I giggled. Then I noticed one of the girls play with the hem of her sky blue skirt and then I realized that we never got to introduce ourselves.

"Uhmm Hi, by the way, I'm Taniyama Mai and this is Matsuzaki Ayako" I pointed to Ayako who was fixing her things and smiled slightly.

"Uhmm…I'm Magnolia Gray...but my friends call me Lia…n-nice to meet you!" she said nervously but I think it's cute, I also recognized her, she was with Kyouya when I bumped into him. She has long brown hair and her eyes-

"ARE YOUR EYES LIKE…AMBER?" Ayako wailed

"Uhmm, no, they're actually hazel but somehow they ended up too light to look hazel" she smiled shyly and blushed.

"Oh…and she's Anise Sinclair, but I think you recognize her, she's the one Eisen sent to meet you when you first arrived. She went there with Alexis" I looked at the girl who has long black hair that reached up to her waist and steel colored irises with a matching steel-hard glare.

"Sinclair?" Ayako raised her eyebrows

"Oh, I forgot, in our place we say our first names first followed by our last name. its like how you say your names the other way around." She smiled.

"Oh so her name is Anise?" I emphasized the ooooohhh~ sound

"If everyone's done then let's head back to the base" she said with an emotionless expression as she pushed her glasses upwards making it glint in reflection with the light. I saw her look at Lia and she nodded then left the room. '_Whoa' _I thought.

"Uhmm sorry Lia but is Anise telepathic?" I asked and she blushed again 'I'm happy that I'm not the only person in the world who could blush different shades of red' I smiled.

"Uhmm, actually, I'm the one who is telepathic" she blushed while playing with her fingers.

"WOW! That is so cool" I squealed.

"Yeah, unlike yours Mai…" Ayako rolled her eyes.

"Hey! It's not like I asked for it you know!" I ended my sentence with a _"hmph",_ Lia was giggling at our antics.

"What's your ability Taniyama-san?" she asked

"Ohhh…you'll see it soon. It will definitely leave you speechless" Ayako replied

"Ayako!"

Knock, Knock

"Oh, hey, Eisen wants us to gather in the base" Kyouya peeked slightly from the door.

"Oh…okay Cloi" Lia nodded.

"Hey!" Ayako retorted making me jump in the process.

"Sorry but you're really confusing me! Just which on is your name? Mai calls you Kyouya while the others call you Cloi. And wait, how do you know Mai" Ayako crossed her arms like a demanding kid.

"Ah, my real name is Satou Kyouya, I'm Mai's childhood friend. My mother took care of her when her mother died since they were good friends so living together we got real close. And I go by the name Cloi Alexanders when I'm in America. It's my English name." he smiled.

"OHHH~ I see" Ayako chirped.

"Matsuzaki Ayako, and don't worry, we'll help you look for your sister" she shook hands with Kyouya..err…Cloi or whatever.

* * *

**~Naru's POV**

_'damn, why is that guy here?'_ I groaned and made a fist as I was reading the files given by Alexis, but my mind keeps on wandering about a certain bastard who's just a few meters away from me. _'Wait! Why do I even loathe the guy?'_ I asked myself _'Is it because of Mai?'_ I pinched the bridge of my nose, I'm starting to get a headache. _'And speaking of Mai, why is that Cloi guy so clingy towards her…and why does Mai call him Kyouya…do they know each other?'_

"Naru?" Lin gave me a questioning glance. I simply looked at him and went back to reading the file. _'I better concentrate on this one'_ a few minutes later, the rest of the team settled on the unoccupied couches.

* * *

**~Mai's POV**

"Good, now why don't we introduce ourselves, my name is Eisen Klein. I'm the leader of this team." He said emotionless then went back to the screen.

"My name is Cyril Cloi Sinclair but please call me Cyril, I have a team mate with the same name as my second name" a guy with silver hair and steel colored eyes like his female cousin stood up and gave us a small smile.

"Oh and this is my cousin, Anise Sinclair" she pointed to anise sitting on the couch in front of him.

"Cloi Alexander but my real name is Satou Kyouya, you're free to call me between the two." A guy with dark green hair and onyx eyes bowed at us, signifying his Japanese manners.

"Alexis Schyler" _'he's almost like Lin!'_ I thought. Black hair, slate eyes, tall...Near six feet or six, and he's always with the boss.'_ Yep, definitely Lin's long lost relative'_

"Hi everyone!" a chirpy girl with ash brown hair and silver eyes came to greet us with a big smile. "I'm Angelica Midgard but cut the formalities and just call me Angelie 'kay?" she smiled warmly at us.

"Oh and Cloi, I sent your mother home. I said that we'll take care of everything and-" her eyes traveled the room and somehow landed on me "YOU-" she pointed, I gawked and my mouth dropped "m-me?" I said nervously thinking about the things I did to make this lady Uhhh…

"Satou-san said that you should visit no matter what, or else she'll have to drag your things from Shibuya and glue them here." She smiled innocently…_'why does this person remind me of Madoka? Oh, yeah…'_

"Shibuya Kazuya, these are my assistants Lin Kujou and Taniyama Mai. Takigawa-san is our monk and Matsuzaki Ayako is our priestess. John Brown is a priest from Australia, Hara Masako is our medium, and lastly Yasuhara Osamu works as a part-time researcher for our team.

"Hey, why don't we just let Oliver Davis use psychometry to find Cloi's sister? " Anise said bluntly.

"I prefer you calling me by my Alias Ms. Sinclair" Naru said icily but it didn't faze those steel eyes.

"Scared of the media Davis?" she smirked.

"Anise, that's enough" Eisen said then they were talking about splitting into groups of five but my attention was disturbed when I felt a tug on my sleeve. When I turned to my right I saw a little girl with dark brown hair in pigtails that matched her innocent eyes.

"Hey there, what's wrong?" I asked the little girl and she began to cry silently. I stood up to hug the little girl and rub her back. When Kyouya poked by back and looked at me confused.

"Mai, what are you doing?" I looked at him dumbfounded.

"Kyouya can't you see that I'm comforting this little girl?" I said pointing to the brown haired kid in my arms. He then grabbed my arms and moved in front of me protectively. I saw the others in the base stand up as well.

"Wha-What's going-"I was about to say more when Kyouya finished for me.

"Mai there is no kid in the base…" he said then the lights began to flicker and a faint glow appeared from the spot where I was earlier and I saw her…but it was a little different, the little girl was missing an eye and her throat was slit. I felt my knees shaking and bou-san, Ayako and John began chanting their prayers. Kyouya was still holding his arm in front of me protectively and Naru shifted closer to my side.

* * *

_"Onee-chan please help us"_

* * *

Then my surroundings began to warp like it was shifting into a different dimension and the base I was once standing in no longer looked like one instead I looked at the cold, dark street in front of me and a bunch of children nearly freezing to death.

_"Ayumi nee-san, what are we going to do? We didn't collect enough money and Uncle Rido will-"_ the little boy couldn't finish his sentence and began to cry while shivering in the cold streets. I saw the girl earlier hug the boy who seemed younger than her.

_"Let's run away…"_

* * *

The scene shifted again and I was staring into a room with a fireplace and all of the children were there, crying. A big fat man took steel from the blazing fire and hit it to the children leaving nasty marks on their skin as they wailed in pain. My eyes start to water and no matter how much I wanted to stop that man my feet were glued on the floor, I felt useless…just like the time when I was watching Natsume die. I saw the man stop and returned the steel to the fireplace. The children were trying hard not to cry for fear of being punished again, then, out of nowhere a big woman emerged from the darkness holding a sharp knife.

_"Trying to escape are we? I'll make sure you'll never be able to move again"_

She grabbed a small boy about the age of four and ripped his shirt then started dissecting the boy like some frog. The little boy screamed as his organs were being ripped from their original position. The other kids were trembling with fear; one by one she sliced their skin, took a piece of meat from their bodies saying something about selling it in the market and then the little girl named Ayumi became brave enough to snatch the knife from the woman to protect the remaining kids alive.

_"Ooooohhh~ somebody is playing heroine?!"_ she laughed like a witch again.

_"But sorry kid, you're just not the protagonist of this story…"_ the woman threw the blazing steel and burning her thigh making her drop the knife in the process then she launched herself at held her throat then started to gauge her right eye out. The little girl thrashed around as she screamed in pain, annoyed of this, the woman threw her to the wall.

_"You little bitch! STOP MOVING AROUND!"_ she took knife and slit her throat in one clean slice. The little girl couldn't even scream anymore, she was just there on the floor convulsing and stealing some breaths.

_"Well…now that the fly is gone, let's continue the fun shall we?"_

I couldn't scream…

I couldn't move…

Heck, I couldn't even blink!

All I could do is watch from the corner while the room began to flood in blood, the once yellow glow from the light bulb turned red because of blood splashing all over the place.

_"Mai wake up!"_ I heard Gene calling me but my muscles were numb, I couldn't even feel them.

_"Mai you need to get out of here!"_ I choked some air as the room filled the scent of blood…but that was a bad move…

The woman heard me and advanced towards me…

_"Well what do we have here?"_

I don't know what happened then, I just felt like there were cuts and bruises on my body…I felt like I was going to die…

_"Mai!"_ Gene screamed

Then a white flash of light emerged in thin air and I heard glasses breaking. Although my eyelids were on the verge of closing, I caught a glimpse of long silver hair with matching eyes. I saw an armored man with a katana that was as long as three or four meters.

_"I broke the barrier, take her out"_ the man said.

_"Thank you Sephirot…"_ then Gene carried me then dashed along the void space of dimensions.

_"Mai you idiot…you nearly died!"_ Gene said looking ahead of us while running.

_"Sorry…"_ I said weakly.

_"Mai!"_ Gene stopped on his tracks and I saw Kyouya running towards me..

"Kyouya…" I whispered

"You're Eugene right? Hand Mai to me, I can take her back" Kyouya said.

"How did-"

"I can differentiate things that are alive and are not" Kyouya replied and Gene handed me to him while caressing my cheeks one last time.

"Don't feel guilty Gene…" I said weakly I saw his sad eyes and I reached out then pinched his cheeks with my remaining energy.

"You'll look like the narcissist like that…" I said

_"Sorry…"_

"Don't be…"

When I was back in my body I heard screams of pain engulf the room and to my relief it wasn't the children's voices, it was those people who tortured them. Shikis were hovering all over the place and I noticed one kept on swirling in front of me. I noticed the glow my bracelet was emitting and smiled. Then I heard a growl…

_"YOU! I will kill you!"_ the woman said in a demonic voice then launched herself to me but Sephirot intercepted and sliced the figure away. The lights returned to normal and the room was finally ghost-free. I saw everyone relax except…

"Mai!" Ayako screamed _'god, she should stop that'_. I noticed the look that the others were giving me and then scanned myself. I was bleeding… then I fell on my knees. Ayako looked like she teleported to my side and began wrapping my wounds and screaming for the first aid kit I also saw ash brown hair on my left realized that Angelie was beside me and her hands are glowing!

"Ayako-san, let me take care of the wounds, please prepare materials for blood transfusion, it seems like she lost a lot of blood." She said, Ayako quickly nodded and grabbed the needled and the tubes 'god, I hate them'

"Eisen, move her to our room" without missing a beat, he carried me and gently plopped me down on the bed while Angelie continued to heal my wounds, they started to disappear like there was no trace of them then Ayako was back with the materials and was muttering about blood types 'man am I sleepy…' from the corner of my eye, Angelie was smiling at me 'wow, her name suits her well' I thought.

"Don't worry, just relax and go to sleep" and on cue, I drifted to a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**~General POV**

The base was quiet, Alexis and Lin were watching the monitors, and Bou-san, John, and Cyril were exhausted from the exorcism. The rest were in the room with Mai while Eisen was sharing his blood. He was the only one compatible with Mai's blood type. And around the corner a certain narcissist's knuckles were turning to white.

"Cloi, explain…" Eisen muttered softly.

"Well, I noticed Mai was having an out of body experience so I mentally projected in her dream. But I saw Eugene Davis carrying a wounded Mai running desperately. I couldn't ask him what happened anymore because I told him to hand Mai over since she was running out of spiritual energy. I gave her mine so that we could both escape from the astral plane and then…" bou-san sighed.

"Man, and we were just introducing ourselves a while ago and Mai already attracted a crazy ghost." He sighed.

"It's not a ghost, it's a hollow" Eisen said **(A/N: okay, I don't own the hollow idea…it all from bleach xD)**

"Care to elaborate?" Naru said trying hard to fix his tone, but it still came out scary.

"Hollows are ghosts that are on the verge of becoming demons, that ghost we encountered is classified to the lowest stage before being called a demon, they're called Gillians" Eisen said.

"O-kay…so how many stages are there?" Takigawa asked out of curiosity.

"Based on our research we found three stages. The lowest are the Gillians, they are the weakest among the three, but they are the biggest. They are often called as Menos Grandes because of their size. Next are the Adjuchas, they are smaller compared to Gillians, usually they are the ones that toy with humans often seen as man eating monsters like in the Philippine culture they are called _aswangs, tianaks, tikbalangs_ and many more. Lastly, the third one is called the Vasto Lordes. They are the smallest out of the three and are nearly human in size. Mostly termed as _doppelgangers, shift shapers, white and black ladies etc_. But remember, they are still not demons." Takigawa felt chills running down his spine. He definitely doesn't want to run into one of those. Suddenly a small knock was heard.

"Uhhh…Cloi…we…have…a…" Cyril stuttered from the doorway. Cloi or Kyouya raised his eyebrow but then it disappeared and was replaced by a jaw drop when a giddy little girl with long green hair tied into pigtails with red ribbons peeked inside the room and her onyx eyes gleamed in delight when she saw…

"Onii-chan!" Naomi said as she ran and hugged her brother's knees. Everyone in the room gasped.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Takigawa moaned while plopping into the vacant bed once again.

* * *

**A/N: Whew! finally now may I present (spotlight)*makes quote sign* "the mentions"**

**101uchiha-kakashi (hey im glad you liked it xD)  
proud to be foreveralone (lol, sorry talaga hah...ngayon lang ako naka-update (^^')/ peace )  
zerocchi(lol i dont mind, and thanks for the OC... but please be patient, she will definitely come out, just not this time xD)  
princessyumemi123(awww, thank you... and im really jealous for people who have twins c(T_T)J )  
seshomaru94 (Lol, your reviews always make me smile xD thank you so much!)  
2takuya (Sorry, but i think you should expect more of those kind of endings *wink wink*)  
BrokenBlackCat (Lol...you really like making naru jealous huh? xD)  
Treelow955 (LOL I finally finished it! thank you so much and I'm sorry you always get confused xD)  
Chrysanthia-Sunshine (Lol, thanks for encouraging me xD and i do hope so)  
CrimsonHeart77 (Wahhh! im glad you liked the song...it really captured my heart you know xD)  
twighlightangel61090 (Thank's for reviewing...im so happy you guys loved it T_T)  
AlmaLucia(LOL, Im sorry if i kept you waiting xD)  
Little-bad-Angel(Thank you for your continuous support and i hope i'll keep you wanting for more)  
Minato-kun Luver( Thank you for your review and for reading my other story also *bows* thank you so much!)  
Urdyonlione (Wahhh! Im flattered *blush* thanks, Ill make sure to keep that in mind xD)  
AlphaWolf45 (LOL, im glad you think it's funny, im starting to think it's corny...god that just rhymed!)  
Emina105(Lalalala...your reviews make me happy also xD)  
celtyin(wow thanks! im glad its going your way...hahaha but i guess its not fun without a little twist right *smirk* nayhahahahaha)  
**

**And also for the guests who reviewed and contributed OC's...again please read my first A/N and PM me if you loathe the idea. but they're not really Antagonists...just like minions of the antagonist...uhhh...but again for a good reason. XD**

**einiram;CartoonistGirl6;Guest;Butterfly;hikari**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOUR REVIEWS BOOST UP MY SPIRIT! xD**

**I look forward to reading your reviews again. Luv yah guys *chu chu* 3**


	10. Chapter 10: Naomi

A/N: Hello, I just want to thank the following people who took an effort to review. Thank you very much guys! 5 more to go for 100 reviews! I'm so happy T_T. OH~ and if I get more than 10 reviews for this chapter, I could post bonus chapters of any of the characters past experiences (childhood, elementary years etc…) Also, I'll dedicate the chapter to the person who has reviewed the most of my story C:

Urdyonlione; zerocchi; seshomaru94; BrokenBlackCat; and Treelow955

Also I'm happy that there are four guests that reviewed in the last chapter:

Sum1, and guests 1,2 and 3

And NoCoolNameHere

Thank you for your suggestion…though there are many parts that I seem not to understand though, I tried to PM you but you disabled it so I hope you'll give me a lot more clearer explanation as to your suggestion (bcuz I'm dumb…sorry…I really don't get it :"(…) but I really appreciate it you know (^^)/  
But I think it's something regarding the timeline in my story. So I guess if you read my Last A/N in err…chapter 2-4 I guess I explained it there…

And to everyone else who reviewed TTAM, THANK YOU!

Thank you for taking your time to review C:

**Chapter 10: Naomi **

**~No one's POV**

What the hell is going on here!?" Takigawa moaned while plopping into the vacant bed once again.

"Naomi! Wha- do you know how worried mother was you little…" kyouya said with worry laced voice while carrying his 7 year old sister securely in his arms.

"I'm sorry…" her voice muffled in his shirt as she hugged her brother's neck.

"I'm going to call father so he can pick you up" he set Naomi down and ruffled her emerald hair which Kyouya chuckled when she made a face at her messed up hair. She blinked twice and scanned the room only for the pair of irises to land on the sleeping figure on the bed.

"Mai onee-san!" she gasped as she made way to her bed.

"Is she okay?" she asked Eisen who still wasn't done with the blood transfusion and replied with a nod.

"Maybe if you hold her hand she'll feel better Naomi chan" Angelie smiled and her face instantly lit up taking a hold of Mai's free hand.

"Onee-chan, please wake up, I really missed you" she brought Mai's hand to her cheeks.

**~Mai's POV**

"_Welcome to our home Mai-chan, I know it will take time to get used to it but don't worry, we will always be here for you…" a gentle voiced said to the small young brunette._

…

"_Hey, my name is Kyouya, I hope we can be friends…" onyx eyes looked straight into brown. The young girl smiled warmly and took the hand he was offering._

"_Let's play Kyouya!"_

…

_The young girl was making some snacks for everyone when she noticed a faint green bulge near the frame of the door._

"_Do you have a special order maam?" I joked. Then a small little girl with emerald hair and onyx eyes peeked through the door._

"_Mai-chan, can you stay beside me when I take my afternoon nap? Onii-chan told me that there might a boogeyman under my bed and I'm scared!" I sighed, taking a few seconds to register 'smack-the-head-of-that-idiot-later' in my long memory. I smiled and took her small hand and led her to her bedroom full of stuffed animals and frilly pillows. I laid down the bed beside her whilst humming some random tune lulling the small girl to sleep._

"_Mai-chan…"_

"_Hmm?" the little girl smiled_

"_Wake up…"_

On cue, my eyes fluttered open and I saw Ayako beside me plastering a band-aid in my arm. I noticed that Eisen guy beside me too, and he also had a band-aid in his arm and it made me curious. The left side of my body felt so heavy like gravity was pulling me down a little stronger than 9.8 m/s^2. That is when I realized a little girl, who was on the trying hard not to fall asleep was leaning on my arm. She seems to not yet have noticed that I'm already awake, so I called her attention.

"Naomi…" I whispered. Startled, she looked up with gleam in her eyes.

"Mai-chan!" she hugged me lightly conscious of my wounds and kissed my cheek. I smiled and patted her head making her giggle _'she always likes being patted on the head as usual'. _i heard the door open revealing Kyouya.

"Oh, you're awake Mai…you okay?" he asked me

"I feel lightheaded…" I groaned trying to sit up, Eisen helped me with that and I'm starting to think that he might not be such a jerk after all.

"Airhead…" I heard someone say, I turning around, I found Naru with a folder stuck in his face and I suddenly had an urge to make that figure of speech literal.

"And you missy, you are going home, although dad can't pick you up right now because he's still in a meeting, he sent Chi to pick you up, aren't you happy?" he sent a fake smile to Naomi who was pouting. She dragged her feet to Chi but before leaving, she looked up to me with puppy-sad-eyes and pleaded.

"Mai-chan, you'll come to visit right?" she asked, eyes moist and lips quivering. I was about to reply when her brother beat me to it.

"Don't worry, she's bound to…" then he sent me a look.

"Yayyy!" she squealed and was out of the room in no time.

"Well that was quite a show…" Ayako said closing her med kit with a click.

"Naomi is pretty cute huh Ayako?" I giggled

"Yes, and you look pretty cute right now too Mai-chan…" her tone was low giving me a warning of what is yet to come. I swallowed a lump on my throat and tried to smile. But it failed.

"Care to let us know what happened?" she tapped her foot in a monotonous rhythm, all eyes upon me making me blush…

"well, I dreamt of kids who…" I suddenly remembered the unsightly memory making my stomach churn. I winced in disgust as I remember how she…ughhhh….

"There was an orphanage here, and the owners made the kids beg for them. Then if they didn't earn too much money or when they tried to escape they…"I covered my mouth in disgust and was on the edge of throwing up. Ayako rubbed my back in comfort and Angelie gave me some fresh tea.

"Okay, just leave that up to our imagination jou-chan, but still how did you get all those wounds?" monk asked

"She saw me…and I don't know how…but…uhmm I was told not to make any noise…well I just gasped a little…but it caught her attention" I fiddled with my fingers unsure if I should talk about Gene in front of his narcisstic twin.

"Told? By who?" I heard the Lin-alike guy…Uhhh...What was his name again…oh…Alexis…said. Ok, great Mai! You really know how to cover up things…

"Uhhh…" I took a quick glance at Naru and he was indifferent as usual.

"Gene…" I said cautiously.

"Gene? Eugene Davis? So he's your spirit guide" he deduced.

"Alexis, research about the orphanage Mai was talking about" Eisen said, and with that all the EPA members started moving. I felt someone poking my side and saw Yasu. _'since when did he get there?'_

"First name basis huh Mai?" he grinned in a Yasu like manner and I blushed beet red.

"Wha-what are y-you trying to imply Yasu!" I stammered, but he just smirked as a reply.

"I do not waste my money in paying you to stand around doing nothing" Naru growled never looking up from the folder he was reading. Instantly, everyone grabbed something to do like thermometers and watching the tapes etc.

"Mai, if you can move, tea. John go with her." He ordered me…damn narcissist.

"Based from Mai's dream, it is impossible for that woman to sense Mai when it all happened in the past. Which means, the hollows are repeating their crime over and over again which would support the data regarding the ghost children and it is possible that it is the reason why they can't move because they are forced to experience their deaths all over again." Eisen said closing the folder and looked at us.

"Could we borrow the expertise of your exorcists Shibuya-san?" he asked Naru.

"That is not a problem, Takigawa, Brown-san and Matsuzaki-san prepare for exorcisms.

_Kriiinggggg…_

"excuse me" Kyouya said. A few seconds later, he was already shouting at the other line.

"What do you mean by she hasn't arrived there yet! I sent her hours ago! Where the hell is Chi? I am so going to fire her!" Kyouya growled onto the phone.

"WHAT! What do you mean by she's in Osaka? She was here and she picked her up!"

"Eisen, the temperature in the collapsed building dropped by 28 degrees and…" Alexis trailed.

"Naomi?!" Kyouya was horrified when he saw the figure of his little sister inside the collapsed building that looked like a music room.

"Everyone. Move!"

We all ran to the building as fast as our breath can take, I just can't imagine what will happen to Naomi if we were too late…a murderous ghost on the loose who takes pleasure in killing children and Naomi lost in the building where her presence is the strongest…upon arriving in the building we split into groups but I couldn't care less about that anymore, I just ran to where my instincts were telling me to go…

"NAOMI!" I screamed on top of my lungs

_Mai-chan let's play hide and seek, come find me 'kay?_

"NAOMI!" I repeated, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and when I turned around I saw Naru with his ever stoic face with Lin and Eisen behind him, and yet his eyes show a glint of concern that I couldn't resist the tear that was threatening to fall.

"Calm down, you can think straight that way…" he said and I somehow smiled a little _'typical Naru, even in times like this he can't help but insult my intelligence…' _ I closed my eyes and inhaled a large amount of oxygen to calm my racing pulse helping my senses boost to a whole new level. When I opened my eyes, the sight made my breath hitch. Naomi was there and she was pointing in a burning room except that she's transparent! Panic engulfed my body and I felt an adrenaline rush coming when I kicked the door out of its place and saw Naomi crying amidst the sea of flames.

"Naomi!" the instant I called her, she looked up and was at my side in seconds and hugged her tight assuring her she isn't alone anymore.

"Shhh…it's okay now, I found you so don't cry anymore…" I patted her head while she continued sobbing in my chest.

"Mai, we have to go" Naru said and grabbed my arm. I was carrying Naomi so that our hands won't slip just in case. While we were running though, we came face-to-face with the woman we've been avoiding the most. Lin summoned his shikis while Naru and Eisen are standing protectively in front of us. The woman shrieked in an inhuman pitch and glared menacingly at us…at me specifically.

"YOU!" she tried to lunge herself at me but luckily Sephirot intercepted it causing her to stagger backwards and writhing in pain, I noticed the air around us felt weird when the ghost launched a full-force attack. I stopped breathing for seconds when I found her rotting face inches from mine; I heard a crackling sound near me, sounding like water freezing instantly. She shrieked again in attempt to break free from the ice immobilizing her entire body.

"NOOHHHHHH! YOU CANT KILL ME!" she screamed.

"Shut up bitch…" and in an instant she was incinerated into thin ashes…

"Eisen, guys, you're not hurt, are you?" Cyril walked towards us and saw me trembling from head to toe. He then gave me a sweet smile similar to John and helped me up to my feet.

"Don't worry, we already exorcised her, she won't be coming back anymore." With that I let out the air that I hadn't known id been holding. I also loosened my grip on Naomi because god knows if I was hugging all the oxygen out of her small frame.

"Naomi!" Kyouya called and a trembling Naomi hugged her brother's knees and sobbed.

"What the hell happened? Why are you still here?" he asked drying up her sister's tears in the process.

"Chi told me that Chopin's Tristesse could be heard in the music room of this building. I-I just wanted to check it out for a while and Chi said that she would go with me, but when I reached the music room the door suddenly closed and-and…" she sobbed again. Kyouya nestled his head between her small shoulders and calmed her down.

"Let's go home…" was all he said and the ghosts of Sacred Gate University was cleared at last.

**~At the Satomi House…err…Mansion**

"OOOOOOHHHHHHH! This food is great! Ahhhhhhh…..abundance…" monk was silently thanking the gods for the blessing of food when a solid purse hit his head.

"You stupid monk! Have a little dignity would you!" she growled.

"No its okay…besides, were kind of celebrating today anyway" Kyouya said smiling at their antics.

"Celebrating what?" but before he could answer his question, I entered the room causing everyone to stop whatever they're doing, this creeped me out…

"What?" I raised my brow

"Oh, nothing Mai, how's Naomi?" he asked me

"She's with sensei right now…" I said suddenly finding my skirt interesting.

"You know you could ask me about it…" he said as he stood up and walked to one of the cupboards taking out a white scented candle.

"Satomi…since when?..." I asked not looking up, not wanting to see the expression on his face.

"A few months after you decided to move to Shibuya…" he said lighting the scented candle and placing it into a table with a picture of a girl with emerald hair tied into pigtails with a pair of onyx eyes.

"How…?" my voice was low and yet he still heard me

"A truck hit her and she died on the spot" he replied.

"It was my fault…" everyone was startled when they saw Naomi standing near the entrance of the dining room

"Onee-chan is always sickly, so mom and dad would pay more attention to her, also, she much more talented than me, she can play the piano so well in an early age, everybody loved onee-chan. So I thought, that I would tease her a little bit. While we were playing in the park, I kicked the ball hard on purpose so that she wouldn't catch it but it landed on the street and she was hit by a truck…onee-chan probably hates me up until now." She said with a grim expression

"That's not true!" I shouted too loud causing her to flinch and look up at me with teary eyes.

"She's helped me find you…Satomi that is" and on cue she started crying again…_'great Mai'_

"I wanted to see her! I wanted to tell her how sorry I am, and that I love her and was lucky to be her twin..." she sobbed, I kneeled down and patted her head

"She knows, and that she never hated you once in her life, and she loved you much more that you can imagine Naomi, I know…" I hugged her crying form. We stood in front of her memorial picture and prayed together, glancing from the corner of my eye, I saw Naomi smiling like she should be…

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling aki…this isn't good…"

"Yui, we can't anything about it, all we can do is stay by her side, we knew from the start that sooner or later she will have to face this…"

"I know, but I just…"

"Just believe in them Yui"

**~Naru's POV**

"_**Noll dear guess what? We are in Japan right now!"**_** mother giggled on the other line**

"_**Oh and were going to visit you soon, I'm just going to visit an old friend of ours, cant wait to see you darling!" **_

-beeeeeep-

'okay, that was scary' I groaned. Knowing my mother, she would make such a big fuss about Mai staying at our condo, in my room nonetheless! I winced at the thought of my mother dragging Mai to choose bridal gowns or…..god knows what chaos she will bring! Looks like I should talk to Mai before my mother arrives in the flesh. Looks like my plans would have to wait after the hurricane has left.

_-but I shoud've had known, expect the unexpected….-_

_~Ding dong~_

"Yui, Aki, long time no see!"

"Hello, nice to see you again, Luella, Martin"

A/N: so what do you think? Review pls xD  
Oh, and I totally left it like that on purpose. Don't hate me, but as you noticed, my title is like a summary of the whole story, if not, some kind of clue… So sorry for always leaving a cliffhanger, but I think I warned you that it will stay that way…C: peace


	11. Chapter 11:TheMysteriesofEisen'sGroup

A/N: I have no excuse for this delayed chapter…. Thank you for continuing to support this lazy author. Sorry guys…

* * *

_~Recap_

"_**Noll dear guess what? We are in Japan right now!"**_** mother giggled on the other line**

"_**Oh and were going to visit you soon, I'm just going to visit an old friend of ours, cant wait to see you darling!" **_

-beeeeeep-

'okay, that was scary' I groaned. Knowing my mother, she would make such a big fuss about Mai staying at our condo, in my room nonetheless! I winced at the thought of my mother dragging Mai to choose bridal gowns or…..god knows what chaos she will bring! Looks like I should talk to Mai before my mother arrives in the flesh. Looks like my plans would have to wait after the hurricane has left.

_-but I should've had known, expect the unexpected….-_

_~Ding dong~_

"Yui, Aki, long time no see!"

"Hello, nice to see you again, Luella, Martin"

* * *

**Chapter 11: The Mysteries of Eisen's Group**

**~Naru's POV**

_Dread…_

_Was an understatement_

"Noll? What are you doing here?" my father asked, completely surprised that I was by the door impaled by the presence of my parents.

"Oh well! At least we get to kill two birds with one stone" my mother immediately lightened up.

'kill...' I gulped, what is it with this series of unfortunate events, surely Lemony Snickets have nothing to do with this…

"Why don't we get inside, perfect timing Luella, we're actually celebrating since Kyouya has recently returned from the States" she grinned at her and escorted her forward inside the mansion. My mother briefly glanced at me and smirked then went inside.

Perfect timing

I scowled.

* * *

**Mai's POV**

It has been the most awkward dinner that I ever had in my whole life.

My parent figures chatting around like old friends with the Davises. But then again they said they are old friends. I can see Naru scowling whenever Yui and Luella would whisper something among themselves while staring intently at Naru and giggling like teenagers afterwards. Martin and Aki were talking about business which is gratifyingly normal for businessmen. Aki also encouraged Kyouya to learn something about managing a business but then he just scoffed and muttered something like 'money' and 'competition' which I inferred is a no to Uncle Aki. I sipped my diet coke and jumped at a certain squeal coming from two adult ladies.

"Ohhhh! So you're the infamous Mai, I have heard so much about you" Luella beamed at me and dragging me to the couch where they are sitting. I raised an eyebrow at the contradictory statement she had just made.

"Why care to share what stories you have heard about my lovely god daughter when I mentioned her name Luella?" my aunt smirked. 'Just what kind of evil discussion are they having?'

"Oh my little birdie just mentions a lot of her name whenever I ask about Noll's situation before he reopened SPR again" she mused but I can see the 'sparkle sparkle' and 'bubble bubble' aura surrounding her, and I could only think of that bird's name….Madoka.

"By the way, there are still too many people that needs to be introduced in this house" Luella exclaimed.

"I agree with Luella son, are they your team? You sure have gathered many in the past year" Martin nodded in agreement.

" Not all of them father, my team consists of a monk Takigawa-san, a miko Matsuzaki-san, a medium Hara-san, a priest Brown-san and my assistant Mai" Luella raised an eyebrow at the obvious difference in addressing the certain people and since I noticed it also, it turned me into a living tomato. She beamed in excitement and nudged me with her elbow.

"So Mai, are you psychic like them?" Luella took Mai's hands and waited expectantly for the great revelation.

"Uhhh" I stuttered.

"Mai has animal instincts mother" Naru said dryly but I can see the amusement in his eyes seeing as he sparked my fury.

"Animal? Isn't Instinct enough to explain my ability you jerk!" I fumed but the amusement in his eyes grew brighter.

"Mai, normal people don't have that kind of instinct, but animals do, describing it as animal instinct is actually much more self-explanatory." He said in a matter-of-fact tone but I know he's holding back a smirk there….

'Gah! He's so infuriating.'

"And may I know who these lovely people are then?" Martin smiled

"Oh, were students of EPA who are in Training Mr. Davis" Kyouya answered.

"In training? EPA? Esper Psychic Academy?" Martin asked

"Yes, were students of Esper Psychic Academy in New York, were under our final training before were permitted to work in any psychic research institution."

"Ah, yes, I remember a few of my psychics graduated from that academy and I do commend their performance, in fact I forgot that Gilbert runs an academy other than working with me as a researcher." He let out a slight chuckle.

"So other than Satou Kyouya in the team may I know the other members? I am really interested in your academy's system of training young and talented psychics." He smiled and I sense a little excitement in his voice.

"Well, this is Anise and Cyril Cloi Sinclair, Anise has pyrokinesis while Cyril has cyrokinsesis" and I remember the time where that mad psycho orphan killer nearly took my guts out but everything froze for a moment then she burned. I shivered at the memory; I guess I should thank them sometime.

"You're siblings?" Martin asked

"No, were cousins" Cyril kindly replied with a smile whereas Anise ignored the man._ Looks like Naru has some competition regarding sweet manners._

"Oh I see, so?" Martin looked at the other ladies.

"Angelica Midgard sir, pleasure to meet you, I'm a healer and this is Magnolia Gray she's telephatic" she smiled and Lia smiled shyly.

"Healer? That is a very rare ability" Martin beamed and Angelie politely smiled and shrugged it off.

"So this is Alexis Schyler our ommnyouji" Kyouya introduced the rest.

"Ommnyouji, you're not Chinese." Martin raised a brow.

"I learned from a friend sir" he replied in his stoic expression. _Ahhh! American Lin version!_

"And this is our leader, Eisen Klein he's uhhh" Kyouya glanced nervously at Kyouya who is sipping diet coke doing well in being a background.

"Eisen Klein? I see, so you're Gilbert's adopted son" he chuckled "He won't stop bragging about you" Eisen coughed decently after sipping some diet coke and I find it very adorable, kind of like a sophisticated way in choking diet coke.

'Whoa! What the heck Mai! What's with adorable?' I gasped in realization and in a split second our eyes accidentally met and there's twist in my stomach that I can't explain.

Oh god.

"Well, I was actually planning to visit Oliver to give him a case, but Eisen, if you don't mind how about a joint exorcism?" Martin offered. Eisen crossed his arms, his other hand tracing his bottom lip and I find it very distracting I looked down and fiddled with my own skirt to hide my red cheeks.

_Oh come on! What is wrong with me!_

"That is very interesting Mr. Davis, I accept your offer" he gave his trademark small smile.

"Well, I look forward into working with you Eisen but now is not the time for all this business, why don't we enjoy what is on schedule for today and leave the details for tomorrow. Oliver, you don't mind using SPR as a venue?" he asked Naru who is indifferent as usual.

"Of course not father" he said dryly.

"Then it's a deal then, now let's celebrate" he raised his glass of wine while the other's followed raising glasses of wine and cans of diet cokes.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I know some of you will complain on the turn of events here but let me assure you, all the details I put in publishing this story is correct. If you don't understand what I'm saying, go back to my summary and look at all the details like the genre and etc.

Merry Christmas everyone! It's already December 24 here in the Philippines xD

UpdateSoonxX


	12. Chapter 12:A Talk with Amethyst Eyes

_~Recap_

"Well, I was actually planning to visit Oliver to give him a case, but Eisen, if you don't mind how about a joint exorcism?" Martin offered. Eisen crossed his arms, his other hand tracing his bottom lip and I find it very distracting I looked down and fiddled with my skirt to hide my red cheeks.

_Oh come on! What is wrong with me!_

"That is very interesting Mr. Davis, I accept your offer" he gave his trademark small smile.

"Well, I look forward into working with you Eisen but now is not the time for all this business, why don't we enjoy what is on schedule for today and leave the details for tomorrow. Oliver, you don't mind using SPR as a venue?" he asked Naru who is indifferent as usual.

"Of course not father" he said dryly.

"Then it's a deal then, now let's celebrate" he raised his glass of wine while the other's followed raising glasses of wine and cans of diet cokes.

* * *

**Chapter 7: A Talk With Amethyst Eyes...**

**~Mai's POV**

I woke up with a gasp.

I felt something stir beside me and immediately jumped in surprise. I saw a bunch of emerald hair poking out amidst the sea of pandas, polar bears and other stuffed animals and felt relieved. I had that dream again, that woman...

I shuffled out of the bed and tip-toed my way out of Naomi's room. After Naru's parents left, we all retired for the night and since Naomi knew that I'll be leaving the next day, she dragged me to her frilly bedroom and gave me a please-sleep-with-me-tonight-puppy-sad-eyes look that i couldn't resist. I made my way to the fridge and drank some water then sat on the table sighing. My dreams have been very confusing lately, usually it would connect to a case right away, but this one, i keep waiting for a certain case that would click with my dreams. But every time were in a case, my dreams shift into a new one.

I sighed and took another sip of cold water. What is that woman trying to tell me?

_I don't...love you...experience the pain that I went through._

"Mai?" I choked on my water and saw a dark figure on the door frame

"Who...who's there?" I swallowed a lump in my throat, my heartbeat going haywire and my voice which attempted to sound strong and threatening sounded like a whimpering puppy.

"Relax, it's just me" the dark figure stepped forward into the dim light of the kitchen and revealed amethyst eyes.

"Eisen" I sighed

"Is there something wrong?" he asked as he walked to the fridge

"Besides waking up from a nightmare and freaked out by a dark figure by the door frame at three o'clock in the morning, nothing's wrong" i said dryly

"Hmmm, nightmare?" he said taking out a pitcher of water and getting a glass to drink.

"Yeah, recently, I'm always having the same dream when I'm not in a case, and...i don't know, it's confusing me" I said softly

"Hmm that's normal, dreams are powerful you see...sometimes they let you be in a certain dimension where the past and the present meet. But don't worry, time will come where you'll eventually understand everything" he said leaning on the counter with his arms crossed and his free hand tracing his bottom lip. I flushed beet red again, the dim background is making it even more distracting, his ebony locks camouflage the surrounding darkness which makes his amethyst eyes sparkle in contrast to the dark light.

"Is there something wrong again?" he said cocking his head to one side.

"You're distracting me" I pointed to his current position and blushed again. _Shit! Why am I like this around him! Arghhhh!_

"I get that a lot" he smirked and my eyes widened in the slight revelation of his humanity...

"You're not a potential narcissist aren't you?" I said and he laughed softly

"What? That's a very cute way to put it but no, I'm not a narcissist I assure you" he gave me a very amused look and took a seat across mine.

"Hmmm, that's great! I don't know what will happen if there are two narcissists on front of me, since you know, were going to be working together again on the next case...probably lose my sanity?" I joked and he grinned.

"Though I agree with your boss, you have tea to die for" he gave me his trademark small smile and I chuckled.

"Though it won't sound good to have my death certificate read: death by tea-making overuse especially if you and your team will add to my list of tea distribution" I do the fainting gesture

"Well Mai, I suggest you go back since it's nearly 4 in the morning. You don't want your boss to leave you here don't you?" he said getting up from his seat

"I guess I'll take that offer then, and thank you Eisen, I feel better now" I smiled

"It's okay Mai. I'll always be there for you..." he said the walked out of the room leaving me wide-eyed.

_Where have I heard that before?_

I walked back to the room like I had night vision, easily made it up the stairs without any form of injuries unlike usual especially since I feel dazed.

_Eisen..._

Surely I have never heard that name before, but I feel nostalgic when I'm with him. My head hit something hard and I just assumed it was the door so lifted my hand in attempt to grab the doorknob but something grabbed my hand that made me look up.

And I am mortified.

"Mai are you sleep walking?" my favourite blue-eyed narcissist said

"Naru! Uhhh no, sorry I-" I blushed hard...as in HARD. When I saw my hand is placed inches below his belt and I realized I was trying to grab a different kind of knob...

_OH HOLY $H!T!_

"You know Mai, I am amazed at how stupid you can be" he said dryly, still holding unto my arm. I jerked away from him and covered my face in complete embarrassment.

_Oh ground, swallow me! Swallow me now!_

"Anyways Mai, go to sleep, I don't want you sleeping like a log in the morning or else I'll leave you behind" he ordered me but I already ran for the door like a madman and shut it with an audible THUD! I hid under Naomi's frilly blanket hoping it would give me salvation from the overwhelming embarrassment I am currently petrified with.

The next morning, I definitely would not and could not look at Naru in the face. He did order me to make tea for breakfast, but to hell did I avoid eye contact. I could already see Ayako raising a brow at me and bou-san smirking. _Oh Mai, get ready for 'THE INTERROGATION' _I groaned audibly which made Eisen look at me questioningly.

"What's wrong? Didn't sleep much?" he asked.

"Uhhh...ye-yeah" I stuttered which made him look morbidly curious.

"O-kay..." he trailed

"Mai" I jerked at the voice I didn't want to hear all morning...or rather until I forget that incident which is highly impossible.

"Y-yes?" I squeaked

"Bring your luggage to the van now, were leaving" and I ran for the stairs and grabbed my trusty sling bag. Turning around I saw a freshly wake Naomi rubbing her eyes.

"Mai nee-chan, you're going?" she said sleepily. I walked to her bed

"Yes, don't worry, I'll visit you someday. Now go back to sleep, it's still early" I kissed her temple and tucked her back into bed and within a few seconds she was fast asleep in no time!

I hugged my aunt and uncle goodbye and walked to the van like a good girl leaving me to suffer sitting between two hot guys in a cramped van and being deadly close to the black-haired narcissist that I almost-

I blushed scarlet again, when I got back to my apartment, my throat was dry and my neck is stiff because I looked down at my lap most of the time and never-ever talked during the 6-hour trip back to Shibuya.

A/N: Wohoo~ It's done! I'm so proud of myself x3

Well, I had nothing left to say than thank you to those five people who reviewed. Well, at least I get five reviews than nothing.

_**¬Coming up next¬**_ (Hah! I don't know if there will be another one like this in the next chapter but I'm so inspired today xD)

Chapter 13: A Haunted Manor and...A date with Eisen?

Laters babyxX

**Celestialstar12 head over heels in love author with hot-shot CEO Christian Grey and overbearingly young and gorgeous Dr. Oliver Davis, PhD**


	13. Chapter 13: Seducing a Narcissist

**Chapter 13: Seducing a Narcissist**

I always believed in Newton's law of Interaction that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

_But now, I doubt that..._

How the heck does grabbing a doorknob release my full potential in the art of blushing and keep me feeling this despicable for more than 18 hours..._damn you Newton! Why did I agree with him anyway?_

_Oh Mai, your just blaming someone else from your own stupidity..._My conscience says...

"What! I am not" I said childishly.

_Oh Mai, but I must say you wasted your opportunity! Considering you were half asleep that time, it would have been a nice excuse to feel his 'masculinity' _my conscience squealed like a fan girl fanning herself afterwards with her hand.

"WHAT!" I said...too loud...

"Mai?" the all familiar voice and squeaked

"Naru?"

"Sometimes I worry about you Mai" he said in a mocking tone while passing me and grabbing the cup of tea that I was supposed to bring to him and not fighting with my inner fan girl...not conscience, definitely!

"Jerk! I am not stupid Naru!" I growled

"Oh Mai, believe me, I have experienced so many instances that involves your weak brain activity" he said with his all-Naru-smirk. A smirk that made me blush a million shades of red trying to brush off what 'instance' is he implying.

"And one of which is trying to grab my-"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs with my hands covering my ears. I heard frantic footsteps rushing to where we are.

"Mai what the hell!" Lin said with worry etching on his face. He was probably trying to be Sherlock Holmes trying to piece together our expressions : me, all lady red with hands covering my ears and Naru who seems to find the cupboard interesting.

"Uhhh...I-I better call the others and remind them in case they forgot!" I ran for the phone pushing past dumbfounded Lin dialled like my life depends on it.

¬Meanwhile¬

**¬Naru's POV**

"What did you do?" Lin asked his face impassive but his eyes full of amusement.

"Nothing..." I said with a serious face, but he didn't buy it.

"Taniyama-san never calls to remind someone about their meetings" he deadpanned,

"So you're blaming me for her uncommon behaviour? I said dryly

"Seems to me like you're enjoying it anyway. Just hope it won't back fire you..." he said with a smirk then left me smirking slightly to myself.

_Hell yeah I'm enjoying it! And how the hell was it going to back fire me anyway, especially since it's Mai we are talking about here. _My grin even got wider.

_But then AGAIN, I should've known better...Intractable women..._

**¬Mai's POV**

I just had stay within 10 meter radius away from that egoistic narcissist. I know I made a mistake! Okay, a very disastrous mistake that could lead to scandalous events. _GASP!_ My hands went to shut my mouth even though my mind is the one that's doing the talking. I focused more on trying to make red tea for the overbearing tea-addict I call boss. I collect the teacup with utmost grace and made my way to his 'lair' chin up. Obviously, I am NOT going to let him affect me like a hyperventilating school girl all the time.

"Uh-uh Mr. Davis, this girl isn't going to let you enjoy your amusing show anymore" I slipped into his office and placed the cup on his desk. Without waiting for his reply I just nod curtly leaving the room with poise and sat on my desk to organize some files like a good secretary. I purposely left the door open for Naru to see and where I can see him. _Damn bastard! _All I could think as I stapled some documents with brute force showing my anger. I took a quick glance at his door and found him reading over some folders BUT oh I can see how his eyes flicker momentarily at my direction and all of a sudden he smirked. HE SMIRKED! I felt a vein popping in my head.

_Even a saint's patience has its limits._

Then a very evil though surged through my neurons.

_Oh Mai! Shit, should I do it? But that's too brave! Holy cow _I took a deep breath _it's now or never._

I glanced up and saw him sipping small amounts of tea which made me smirk. _This idea although bad keeps getting so damn good._ I heard the phone rang. I picked it up from my desk and answered it. As I negotiate with the person I crossed my legs causing my white ruffled skirt to hike up revealing my bare thighs that had not been covered by my knee-length socks. To enjoy myself I took a quick peek at Naru and saw him froze on the spot. I swallowed an incoming grin and tried to play along for a little longer.

"Yes Dr. Hinamori, Shibuya-san has a clear schedule on Friday 2o'clock. Yes, I understand. Thank you Dr. Hinamori" I ended the call and walked to Naru's office carrying a black clipboard.

"Naru, you have a monthly check-up on Friday 2 o'clock" I said just by the doorway.

"hnnn" was his response. Taking it as a yes, I bit the other tip of my pen quite seductively taking note how his breath hitched and scribbled on Naru's schedule.

"What's the schedule on Friday?" I can see him trying his best to regain his bearings. _Oh Naru, I've put up with you for so long and you don't know the advantage it brings me._

"You have an appointment with Mrs. Fujiki at 10 am then a check-up with Dr. Hinamori at 2 pm and a meeting with Mr. Rodriguez from Manhattan Publishing company for the publishing of your latest thesis at 3:30 pm. Other than that, your schedule is free; would you like to add something?" I said all trying to be professional. His forehead creased in confusion but amusement was a much more dominant aura.

"None, go back to work" he dismissed me and I went back to my seat with a triumphant grin._ Oh I love distracting a narcissist from his reflection._ He's still eyeing me now and then and my evil subconscious leaps with joy. I took off by black blazer pretending to be hot by fanning myself and wiping invisible sweat now and then. I was wearing a navy blue sleeveless blouse with white outlines that seem opaque and if you look closer you could see my lacy black undershirt that ends just a few inches below my breast showing some skin contrasting the thin fabric. I deliciously savor the sudden rigid reaction coming from my boss. I rummaged through my now messy desk and accidentally dropped the pen. I hadn't planned this since its going way over the top but I just can't help rubbing salt on Naru's face in an indirect way.

_He wants to play mind games, so I'll give him one..._

I bent over to reach for the pen allowing him a 3 second view of my cleavage considering the first button of the blouse was open. I hear him splutter his tea and it took all of my will power not to laugh now.

"Naru are you okay?" I quickly ran to his office looking all worried and innocent. He was wiping tea of his mouth and running his fingers through his black locks.

"Yes Mai, more tea" _Exasperated narcissists..._

"...**fuck**" I hear him swear quietly in English _Oh Naru, I watched too many foreign movies to not know what it means._

As soon as my back faces him I had this very evil grin plastered on my face and whoever might find me now might think I'm unstable and is in need of mental supervision. I guess Newton was right after all, I so got the reaction I wanted. I smirked devilishly

_Oh revenge, you are so sweet..._

**¬Noll's POV**

_Fuck...oh FUCK! _I groaned for the nth time. I ran both of my hands in my hair trying to calm the raging testosterone inside me. I feel a very painful throb in my...nether regions and I began to panic.

_Holy shit...holy shit...holy shit._

"_Calm down bro, take deep breaths...there in and out...good boy!" _I hear my dead twin brother in the back of mind. Though I hate to say he is indefinitely annoying, I do feel a little better now.

"_Wow, for the first time in eighteen years my baby brother got a hard o-"_

_GENE! _I scowled not letting him finish the sentence.

_If you want to laugh then laugh in the astral plane until you vomit blood and die all over again! _I growled, my inner voice threatening.

"_Oh, I already did five minutes ago. I swear it was the most painful moments of my spirit life that is second to my death."_ I can hear the humor in his voice and I drowned myself beneath the clear books and folders stacked on my desk.

"_Aww, come on Noll its normal! Pshhh, you just saw the love of your life's cleavage for fuck's sake! I'd be even more shocked if you didn't get a hard on cause she has very illegaly delicious pair of-"_

"**Fuck! JUST GET OUT**!" I screamed meeting the clashing sounds of breaking glass and a very shocked Mai just standing near the doorframe. Incidentally, Lin chose that moment to make his grand entrance.

"Noll! What the fuck is going on out here for chris'sake?" Lin shouted

"Exasperated men..." I hear Mai say in a faint voice when the door opened

"Oops, did we come at a wrong time?" Dad just said from the doorway behind him is the rest of the gang including EPA with intriguing faces. Lin shot me a dirty look clearly saying: We-are-so-going-to-talk-about-this-later. I sighed

"No dad, now why don't we hear about this joint exorcism" I said dryly

A/N: Ok so I know it should be the infamous 'date with Eisen chapter' but as I was writing I just couldn't stop my fingers for writing this. Sorry, I'll try to update before class starts but we have so many projects to consider.

SO,

Chapter 14: A Haunted Manor and a Date with Eisen?!

Aaand an extra advertisement!

Chapter 15: Side Story 1: Magnolia Gray

So did I get you all excited? Hehehe

I asked Treelow955 to have the first side story since she's my best buddy in FFN and since I don't own Lia, I asked her to help me build the story line ;D so she deserves big credit.

Oh and I will make a poll about which person to make a side-story with. Or if you just want the convenient way, leave a review. I guess I'll make side-stories every five or ten chapters, depends on my mood *wink wink

Thank you for those who have reviewed. I love all of them seriously, you guys make me happy. And I can't believe so many people are reading this story now TT_TT you guys make me cry.

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!


	14. Chapter 14: A Date with Eisen!

**Chapter 13: A Haunted Manor and a Date with Eisen!?**

**~Still Noll's POV**

"Noll! What the fuck is going on out here for chris'sake?" Lin shouted

"Exasperated men..." I hear Mai say in a faint voice when the door opened

"Oops, did we come at a wrong time?" Dad just said from the doorway behind him is the rest of the gang including EPA with intriguing faces. Lin shot me a dirty look clearly saying: We-are-so-going-to-talk-about-this-later. I sighed

"No dad, now why don't we hear about this joint exorcism" I said dryly

After everyone is seated, father coughed and turned to us with a serious face like he's gone all CEO-mode.

"Let me start from the begging, Mr and Mrs Maxwell owns a big piece of land near the mountains and decided to build a vacation house there, they demolished some of the abandoned building that were previously there except for a manor-looking-building where they have decided to renovate it since they liked it." He began to pass picture of the manor, it's a three story building painted in cream and mahogany it has stairs that lead to the main entrance, a few rose bushes at the side and pillars decorated with vines.

"Well, let's just say that their first stay didn't go all too well..." he placed a stack of photographs in the table placed in the middle of the couches. And they were photographs of broken windows, scratches in some walls, broken nails or more like fingernails, murdered pillows, messed up rooms and a picture of a little girl dressed in all white with her long black hair covering her face and holding a beat-up teddy bear.

"These were all taken by the CCTV cameras located all over the mansion during their first three days of stay, until it got worse, they would hear screaming voices either male or female usually incoherent words that are spoken too fast, or sometimes 'help me' or 'let me out', 'I don't wanna do this' and 'please believe me'. Doors are opened even if there is no one there, scratching noises, drops of blood or sometimes wet, sticky, substance assumed to be saliva, panting noises, screeching, and a voice of a little girl singing in Latin. The couple were terrified and personally flew to England and proposed this case." He said with a sigh

"I had Madoka do some research about the land, but so far, she had dug nothing which is quite challenging to Madoka. Mr Maxwell said that the caretaker's father previously looked after that place which means it is already old." I nodded, this is very interesting. For father to have hired two teams must mean serious business. He also informed me there are other paranormal experts joining as well which means this is serious.

"Okay father, when shall we start the investigation?" I asked neatly filing all the photographs and putting them in the envelope.

" I was hoping you would start next week if it is alright?" he asked

"Good, it's settled. Everyone, we will meet at the site at 9 am next week, Yasuhara, start researching and Mai before you go...tea" I said dismissing everyone and retreating to my 'sanctuary'.

**~Mai's POV**

"Whoa, he sure is taking the word 'boss' to a whole new level" kyouya said with a grin. And I just shrugged.

"You haven't seen him In that mode yet...trust me" I said making my way to the kitchen preparing narcissus's tea and call it a day! I sure am looking forward to this rare early off. I was thinking of shopping a little since my pay check arrived yesterday. Knocking on the lion's den, I slipped my way into Naru's office and set him his tea and left the office without even looking back.

_Might as well escape since I pulled out such a 'stunt' at him earlier...oh yeah!_

I went back to the expensive store where I saw the shoes I've been dying for! It's a black liz lisa wedge that I have been saving for and finally...the time has come for me to own it! Nyahahahaha!

Grabbing the bag with precious item...I bumped with the person I never, ever, imagined to be in a boutique so girly like this one.

Eisen Klein.

And he's looking at some accessories!

_Idiot! Maybe he's buying it for his girlfriend, not for himself dumbass..._My evil subconscious snarls.

"Mai?" I heard someone squeak my name when I turned around I am face-to-face with amber eyes.

"Lia? "

"**Eisen, we need to go, I have a lot of souvenirs to buy" **Behind Lia is Anise Sinclair crossing her arms and...and...pouting at Eisen.

"Why, if it isn't little Mai-chan. You know, you have the perfect timing to encounter us at this time of the day...we were actually needing a little help" she said with an evil smirk.

* * *

¬A few hours later...¬

I swear, if ever you meet Anise Sinclair with a boutique in sight...you'd better run. I mean, we were shopping for like 3 HOURS and this girl looks like she's bringing Japan with her. Poor Cloi, he had to carry multitudes of bags with him, also dragging Kyouya along in his suffering. I never thought Anise would be the type to shop until someone drops...dead. it all goes back to the saying : _"Do not judge a book by its cover..."_

"Mai! Come here..." Anise called, _this girl just demands...seriously._

"This color would definitely suit you Mai, try it on. Also this, and this and this and-"

"Uhhh, Anise, I can't have all of those clothes you know..." I cut her off, hoping to escape another fashion walk.

"It's okay, I'll pay for them" she deadpanned, crossing her arms and telling me straight-faced. _Damn rich little girls..._

"Uhh that's really nice, and believe me, I appreciate it. But I don't think it will fit in my closet anymore." I smiled nervously, hoping she wouldn't dare to buy me a closet, if she would, it wouldn't fit in my apartment anymore and she'll probably buy me a condo next.

"Hmmm, just three okay, I really think these would look good on you" she grabbed me to the nearest dressing room and shoved me in with three pieces of expensive cloth that I would not dare look at its price tag. Surely I would regret letting her buy that, but then...I'll have to face her, and I don't like facing Anise Sinclair. I still couldn't believe she's a fashion freak, _hah, first impression doesn't last huh?_ I scoffed at the statement. But she really is nice after all, maybe it's just the vibes she's giving to Naru, I have a feeling she really hates him, I mean if you met Naru's real personality, you can't blame her for hating him.._Though he isn't that bad you know._

When Anise got her fill of me and went to hunt clothes for Lia, I took the liberty to stroll around a little bit. I passed by Tiffany's and actually saw Eisen again looking for jewerly and it looks like he's having trouble. He suddenly averted the piece of jewerly and saw me. I blushed and tried to escape but he caught me by the arm and looked at me in the eye and said...

"Help me"

_Okay...i don't know what to say..._ here I am helping Eisen Klein pick out jewerly. Apparently, his mom's birthday is near and he wants to buy something for her but he doesn't know what to give since his mom already has he quote 'everything'. Right now, he's contemplating on buying the pearl necklace with diamonds embedded on the pearls. And I seriously don't want to look at its price tag. I strolled around the showroom and found an amazing collection of charms!

"Charms?"

"Uuhh, I though you could give her a charm bracelet symbolizing things you shared shared together" I looked down and blushed, _Stupid, why would he do that!_

"That's great!" his eyes lit up and start looking for charms to put on the chain.

"I'll take that boat, I remember the time we went cruising with dad, they rarely get a vacation so it's really memorable. And the Eiffel tower, dad and I surprised her there for their anniversary. Also the ice cream, she actually attempted to try chilli flavoured ice cream and her face when she ate it was hilarious. And-" I smiled as he continued to talk about his mom, he really loves his parents. He's usually so quiet and impassive just like Naru I thought they were related, but now, whenever he talks about his parents, his eyes light up like Christmas lights.

"Sorry, I'm blabbering" he covered his mouth with his hand in attempt to hide the small blush on his face.

"No! I actually find it cute, you really love your parents don't you?" I giggled

"Yeah, i...owe them a lot." He said with a sad smile. I frowned.

"So I'll take all of these, thank you, plus this one" he said to the sales lady. I watch him pay at the counter while I try and figure out the reason behind that sad smile...

"Hey, you look like your thinking for the whole world you know," he chuckled.

" Oh sorry" I blushed, damn that was embarrassing.

"This is for you..." he attached something to my bracelet and I saw an additional charm on the bracelet-slash-protective charm Madoka and Lin bought me for my birthday.

"You were staring at it..." he said

"You didn't have to buy it, oh my god!"

"Too late, I already did" he smirked and i blushed as i looked down and fiddled with my skirt, looking at the key charm that I have been looking at earlier.

* * *

_¬A few hours later, again¬  
_

"Anise! For chris'sake, are you literally going to bring Japan with you? And God, isn't your walk-in closet back at states enough!?" kyouya groaned, as he put down multitudes of designer bags he was forced to carry.

"At least feed the men..." kyouya sighed as his stomach protested.

"Ohhh, ok fine, we'll have dinner, but mark my word Mai, we are going shopping before we go back home to the States." She gave me an evil grin and I cringed. _ Another shopping spree date with the fearsome Anise Sinclair!_

We hired three cabs since obviously, all the of us wouldn't fit, especially with the extra load. So Anise, Alexis and Lia rode the first cab with 'baggage'. Kyouya and Cloi in the second cab with the rest of the baggage and...me and Eisen, with no baggage at all, except mine of course. When we hit downtown the traffic got worse and I could imagine kyouya practically grovelling for food by now. I saw Eisen take his phone out and speak to the source then he looked at me with impassive eyes and gave me a shrug.

"Looks like we all got separated, we'll have to eat by ourselves then, if it's okay with you. Kyouya, didn't have objections at all and we don't have a choice. Besides, it's already late, if we wait for the other's we might finish by midnight and I'm sure you still have things to take care of." He said giving me his small smile that I find very eye-catching..._What is it with that smile? It just brings something out of me..._

"It's okay, but I agree with you on arriving late at home, Naru will probably get worried." I winced thinking of arriving at the condo with Naru glaring at me and "where have you been" "what took you so long?" plastered in his face, though the thought of a worried narcissist made me blush.

"Naru? Oliver Davis? You live with him!" he asked arching an eyebrow at me and giving me an incredulous look.

"Uhh, yeah?" I said, unsure of his next reaction.

"Why? Is he your boyfriend?" he said suddenly giving off a frightening aura. _Uh oh_

"Uhh, no, it's a long story..." I fiddled with my skirt, blushing furiously. He sighed heavily, running a hand on his raven locks, and gazed out of the window. _Awkward_

I was shocked when we stopped at the hotel where Naru's condo is, maybe it's just coincidence.

"Is something wrong?" he asked me

"Oh, it's just that, Naru's condo is located here..." he immediately rolled his eyes and looked away from me. _Oh man, he must think I'm such an indecent girl sleeping with his boss!_

"It's not like that Mai, I don't think you're indecent at all..." _HUH? What the hell?_

"I can read you like an open book Mai, you're not a very secretive person aren't you?" he chuckled "It's just that..." he sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair again.

"Anyway, let's just eat and maybe I could take you back to...where you're staying" he said as he offered me his hand like a gentleman. I blushed and accepted it as he laced his fingers with mine, suddenly I get this very weird feeling the moment our hands touch. I looked up to him as he noticed my reaction but he just gave me a sad smile. On the way to the hotel, we saw a small boy looking through the glasses of the restaurant, I instantly felt sorry for the poor boy, maybe f I had brought extra money with me, I could treat him with something but to my surprise, Eisen kneeled down onn eye-level with the boy and smiled at him. He took his hand and entered the restaurant with him. The waiter noticed us and looked at Eisen, me and the frail little boy holding on to Eisen's hand.

"Table for..three sir?" he asked unsure and I grit my teeth. _Bastard. _Eisen handed him a black card and just nodded at the guy. As soon as the card reached his hand, the waiter's jaw dropped and became flustered.

"T-This way s-sir..." he showed us to a privet dining room and offered us each a menu.

"Order anything you like Mai" he said then he turned to the little boy who is looking in awe at the menu "You want chicken buddy?" the little boy nodded eagerly flashing him a hundred mega-watt grin.

"Ok what else? Ice cream? Spaghetti? French fries? Just point it out okay" I watched their exchange and smiled warmly at the two. _Eisen is a really nice guy..._

"Is there something wrong Taniyama-san?" he said giving me a smirk and does his the hobby that makes my heart beat faster, tracing his lip with his finger...

"You're very kind Klein-san" I smiled.

"Thank you, and call me Eisen, please." He said as he dismissed the waiter.

"Thank you for putting up with Anise today, I know she can be very...difficult...sometimes." he sent me a small smile with a matching shrug.

"Oh, it was nothing, though my legs were practically begging me already, I did have fun with her, and I want to thank her again for the clothes." I blushed.

"I was shocked she didn't buy you the whole clothing line. Seriously, that girl loved dressing you up, and I should warn you that if she found her potential Barbie, nothing can stop her from dressing you up, even a 100 mile difference between two countries. Lia was her first prey..." he chuckled at the memory that made me giggle along with him.

"Thank you for your warning Eisen, looks like I'd better watch out for her." I ginned. The sliding door opened revealing the waiter with a cart of food. I loved seeing how the little boy ate to his heart's content. He finished 3 whole drumsticks of chicken, a bunch of fries, hamburger steak, soup, and a huge delicious ice cream that I enjoyed as well. He ordered the left overs to be packed for the boy and after that we got him into a cab and paid the driver (keep the change) to send him home to the address the little guy said. After that he walked me to the condo, and we talk about EPA, the school they were attending. I never thought there was a school for psychics and I find It cool! Eisen said that if I wanted to go to college there, he'd help me get into the Academy.

"Uhmm, thanks for walking me here, I had fun talking with you" I smiled "And about the offer, I'll think about it okay?"

"Sure, no problem" he smiled. But when I turned my back to grab the doorknob, I feel his hand on my arm.

"Mai, actually, there's something I want to give you, please accept this" he handed me a beautiful figurine that I don't know how to describe it properly. It's a glass carved in vintage figure enclosing a translucent yellowish-brown substance and there is a rose inside it. **(A/N: I know, vampire knight :D)**

"It's a rose that blooms once every ten years, I had it enclosed with rosin so that it will be preserved. I wasn't able to give it to its supposed to be owner years ago. So I want to give it to you, please don't decline." He looked at me with pleading eyes that I couldn't resist. This must be really precious to him since he was keeping it for years...why me?

"Thank you...i don't know what to say...I-I" suddenly I feel tears gushing out of my eyes. I sniffed, _Why the hell am I being emotional?! Great, I look so stupid right now! _

I feel his thumb wipe my tears, when I looked up to him he had this smile that took my breath away.

"You're welcome" he ruffled my hair and walked away.

When I opened the door, I am instantly greeted with a slam of the bathroom door.

**Noll's POV**

I can't believe it! I saw Mai enter the hotel with that Eisen fucking Klein. I slam the door seething with anger. What the fuck! Just why the hell am I so angry! Arghhh! This is stupid, irrational and completely and utterly illogical!.

_You're just jealous, admit it!_ Gene snickered inside my head. I ran both of my hand on my hair attempting to calm my raging nerves.

I hate that they're together...

I had the chance six months ago! Why was I so stupid and scared! God! The things that this girl does to me!

_Noll, going back to the past won't change anything, all you have to do now is win her heart, before you lose her, again. Come on Noll, you usually take up a good challenge..Well this one is a class A challenge for the love struck Oliver Davis! This is your second chance bro! Don't waste it, seriously._ Gene warned me.

"I know..." I whispered. An hour later, my anger completely subsided and I grabbed my towel thinking of taking a hot bath to relax until I heard voices outside the door.

"_It's a rose that blooms once every ten years, I had it enclosed with rosin so that it will be preserved. I wasn't able to give it to its supposed to be owner years ago. So I want to give it to you, please don't decline." _What fucking rose!?

"_Thank you...i don't know what to say...I-I" _Again I was seething, I gritted my teeth and went straight for the bathroom and slammed the door hard.

"Maybe I also lost my second chance..."

A/N: okay, I know...2 months, please don't blame me, I was busy and I waited eagerly for march 7, the day where all projects, exams etc, are all over. But then I was chosen to play for our baccalaureate mass and now I'm busy practicing again, but not that busy anymore. I mean, last month was hell...god, I survived hell on earth ~wohooo. Oh and be proud, It wasn't a cliffie XD just a short snappy sentence hehehe.

**Coming up next: Chapter 15: Side Story 1: Magnolia Grey**

Okay here are some pictures of the things I mentioned earlier...it's kinda hard to describe them to its full potential;..

¬ Mai's Shoes =)

/image/cache/data/liz%20lisa%20shoes%2021-10-2012%

I hope you won't be discouraged to read by the way things are turning out. BUT here's the only thing I can tell you: THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON.

Please review, I love all the reviews you gave me, thank you so much. I love you guys, I'm glad you are continuing to support my story. And don't worry, the first twist will nearly be revealed! And since I love you guys, the twist will be revealed on the next case. Oh and I think this case will be the most thrilling and dangerous so far (it has to be because of the twist) so brace yourselves! Oh and let me warn you again that the next chapter is a SIDE STORY. Don't worry, I only have career talks, baccalaureate and graduation practices left so the next chapter won't take a month to update =D.


	15. Chapter 15: Side Story 1: Magnolia Gray

**Chapter 15: Side Story 1: Magnolia Gray**

"Lia, are you done honey?"

"Yes mom, I'll be downstairs in a minute ok?" I placed the brush down in the dresser and looked at my reflection one last time. I took a deep breath and pumped my fist in the air.

_I'm going to make friends this year for sure!_

Today is first day of class in Esper Psychic Academy. It's a school for psychics, specifically for those who have trouble controlling their abilities, but it's also a place for those troubled psychics who have trouble in fitting in...Like me.

People back in my old school call me a freak. They don't like how I can read their minds like an open book. Frankly, I don't either; all they care about is their make-up, their new car and the next girl they are going to get laid with. I was bullied a lot by others and so my parents withdrew me from that place and we transferred to New York and enrolled me in EPA. You see, my aunt is a psychic as well, and she brought me to be tested if I'm psychic as well. When I was diagnosed as psychic, they enrolled me in EPA knowing it's a good school who offers top notch security, very low media profile and me being comfortable in an environment with people who are like me.

"Honey, we can drop you off to school if you want too?" my mom pleaded but her green eyes tell me that she wants to drop me to school. I smiled and nodded my head. Well, ever since the bullying, my parents doubled their protective instincts. Heck, my dad even sued the school for not: he quotes "taking care of the students well being..." where 'like my daughter 'is implied somewhere between those lines. But I'm really happy that they chose to move with me in another city and use business as an excuse to watch over me. My dad parked at the entrance of the school building and looked at me warily.

"Sweetheart, you know that you can tell me is you don't feel comfortable...okay, scratch that, promise me you'll tell me if someone/something is bothering you okay...and I'll make sure to make their lives a living hell" obviously the latter part is barely audible, but I giggled and kissed my dad and my mom good bye.

"I'll be fine dad. Thank you for dropping me to school, and I heard that by the way...I love you" Once they were out of sight the nervousness slowly comes back. I took a deep breath and head inside the building. The moment I reached the cafeteria, I was amazed at the place. I saw a guy sitting in the air acting as if nothing's wrong with the world. There were also a couple of people making things float in the air and some students can teleport from one place to another. I was stunned, I knew that this campus is specifically for psychics and that I am psychic as well but I never thought that it would feel this surreal. I sat on one of the vacant tables and trying to not look obvious at looking in awe of my new schoolmates. So far, I noticed that there's a bit of stereotyping in this school, but not in a negative way. I read some of the minds of some of the students and figured that they only hang out in a group because they feel mutual in some way or another but they also hangout with the other guys of course. The first table to my right were crowded my those rich little girls with makeup and designer bags, clothes, heels etc. And they were talking about the famous pageant that's going to be held in two months. The second table across from them are kinda gives an aura like: "Were 'cool' guys!" they look like models of different brands of clothes and, they are, very good looking. The rest are a mix of either of any races. But one table caught my eye. The table includes four people, two boys and two girls. The girl with ash brown hair seems to be happily giggling at something that the guy with green hair. The other guy with silver hair is quietly smiling at both of them however, the girl next to him is staring at them indifferently and just now, glared hard at the guy attempting to take a picture of the beautiful ash-brown haired girl.

"Oh. My. GOD! It's Eisen!" I heard one of the sassy girls scream with class, fanning herself like the whole room had gone 43 degrees Celsius. At the same time, It looked like the whole cafeteria froze as the man with ebony hair and beautiful amethyst eyes passed by along with a tall man with dark hair and slate blue eyes.

"Hey Eisen, you done with the meeting?" the guy with dark green hair waved.

"Yes" was his curt reply. And just then the bell rang. I scurried to gather my things but instead of gathering them, I accidentally dropped all of my notebooks on the floor. _Wow, way to go Magnolia Gray, you are the world's clumsiest girl in the face of the planet. _As I gathered my notebooks, I saw the green-haired boy from the 'popular table' helping me out.

"Here you go, Ms. Transfer Student" he gave me a friendly smile.

"O-oh, t-thanks." I shyly dipped my head wanting the ground to swallow me for no reason.

"My name is Cloi Alexanderz, pleased to meet you Ms-?" he extended a hand

"Magnolia Gray..." I shook his hand as he gave me a warm friendly smile.

"Can I call you Lia, for short..."

"Y-yes, I don't mind" I blushed.

"O-kay, so Lia, what's your first subject?"

"Uhh, Mental-Psychical Exercises..." I asked unsure of it.

"Ahhh, that makes us classmates then" he chirped and grabbed my hand.

"Lets go!"

~lunchbreak~

"So Lia, how do you find EPA?" he asks.

"Uhh, I'm still amazed at this place." He chuckles.

"I know what you mean, so, how come you ended up here? Well, I mean, you said during class you have telepathy and you can actually blend in with the normal people?" he asks

"Uhh, they kinda freaked out since I can read their minds, and i-was...b-bullied. So my parents moved to New York and enrolled me here"

"Ohhh, I see. Well, my parents wanted me to study here thinking I could control my mental projection better and try not to freak as many people as possible in the future." He smirked.

"Want to have lunch with my friends, I could introduce you to them?"

_Come on Lia, this is your chance to make some friends! Go for it!_

"Y-yes please" he smiled and took my arm, and lead me to a table. Minutes later the girl with ash brown hair settled in one of the chairs.

"Why hello! It's finally nice to meet you! I'm Angelica Midgard, but I prefer you call me Angelie" She gave a very sweet smile that made me smile fondly as well. I feel very comfortable around her.

"Oh here comes Cyril and Anise" Cloi said.

"Oh, it's the transfer student! Hi!" he gave me an outstretched hand and I gladly shook it.

"Cyril Cloi Sinclair, and meet my cousin, Anise Sinclair"

"Cyril, I am talking to, I told I need a mod-" suddenly she looks at me from head to toe, then back at the paper she's holding, and then back at me vice-versa, then smiled..sickly sweet.

"Hello, nice to meet you" I froze when I accidentally heard her inner thoughts..: "I found my model...mwahahhaha" I gulped. I didn't notice at first but I felt someone sit beside me, when I turned I saw the amethyst eyed guy from earlier.

"Oh, guys, meet Magnolia Gray. Lia, these are Eisen Klein and Alexis Schyler." Cloi introduced them to me. Alexis nodded in my direction as if acknowledging my presence, while Eisen gave me a barely visible smile.

"So, what's your ability?" Angelie asked.

"I-I'd rather show you than tell you. You can guess though." I said.

"Okay, so Angelie you are a healer, Cyril you have cyrokinesis, Anise you have pyrokinesis, Cloi you have the ability to differentiate between the living and the dead, Alexis you are an onmyouji in training and Eisen..."

"I would prefer you kept my abilities to yourself. I would guess you had..." Eisen interrupted me before being interrupted himself.

"I don't get it. How does she know this stuff?" Anise asked. 'It's like she's telepathic or something.' She complained in her head.

"That's exactly what I am Anise." I answered to her unspoken thought.

"Wait, what are you talking about? Anise didn't even speak." Cyril said. Anise's eyes were wide though. Alexis started smirking as he had also guessed what I am.

"Ohh, you mean to say you're..." Angelie started as I nodded. Only Cyril still seemed to have not guessed yet as he still sat with a confused look on his face. The others were displaying a range of different expressions though, from Anise's scowl to Cloi's wide grin. 'Argh, this is so frustrating, what exactly is it I'm supposed to be guessing?' Cyril thought. 'Well, I guess whatever she can do it's enough to freak Anise out.' He then smirked at the thought. I cracked a smile too. 'Wow, she kinda looks pretty when she smiles and doesn't look worried.'

"Thank you for the compliment Cyril." I announced hoping to encourage his guess of my powers.

"What compliment? I didn't say anything."

"True, but you thought I looked pretty when I smiled."_No-one's ever said that to me. Well, except..._

"Enough of this. She's telepathic Cyril." Anise huffed. Cloi laughed at Cyril's expression.

"So you can read thoughts?" Cyril asked. I nodded shyly.

"I sometimes can't tell the difference between someone speaking and thinking though so I respond to someone's thoughts and it usually freaks people out. It even makes people wary of being around me as I can hear even their innermost secrets, things that someone doesn't want people to know. You probably won't want to be friends with me now that you know what I can do." I explained.

"No, that's not true ." Angelie said.

"Of course we want to be your friend." Cloi voiced.

"You are most welcome in our group." Eisen added.

"I'm not sure." Anise interjected. "She could learn something she shouldn't."

"Anise, stop being so mean." Cyril chided his cousin. "It must have taken a lot for her to tell us that. She needs friends."

"Fine, but don't blame me when it all goes wrong." Anise huffed. I looked warily at Anise and her frown deepened at me.

_Guess I should've known. Oh well, at least I'm not the only freak here._

"I...um...this probably isn't a good idea." I said sadly and made to get up and leave. A hand on my arm stopped me. I looked up to see it belonged to Alexis, the only one who hadn't commented or said much this whole time.

"Ignore her." He said quietly. "She just doesn't trust easily." I nodded and sat back down.

"So, ever had a boyfriend?" Angelie asked more enthusiastically than necessary. I blushed a little and shyly nodded.

"Ooh, tell me, tell me." She insisted.

"I-I...um...he was about the only...um...person to not be freaked out by what I could do." I admitted.

"Details woman, we need details." Cyril said trying to make up for his cousin's lack of manners and be friendly.

"What was this guy's name?"

"His...um...his name was Kitai." I informed.

"Ooh, that's Japanese for hope. Interesting name." Cloi added.

"You know Japanese?" I asked. He nodded.

"I _am_ Japanese." He said.

"Wow, really?" Again Cloi nodded. 'Whatever! Maybe I was wrong about wanting her as my model. She should stop pandering to everyone, it's not like she doesn't know this stuff as she can read minds.' Anise thought. I frowned at that, but ignored it.

"So was this Kitai guy Japanese?" Angelie questioned. I let out a small giggle.

"No, his parents were just inspired by a visit there."

"Oh, I see." She commented.

"You have any siblings?" I asked everyone as I thought I should also ask them stuff about themselves. 'Again with the stupid questions. She can read minds, why bother asking?!' Anise's thought screamed. My patience with her finally snapped.

"Do you have a problem with me? If you do then say so instead of thinking such nasty things because although the others can't hear you _I_ can." I demanded.

"Yeah, I have a problem. Why keep asking questions you already know the answer to?"

"Contrary to your belief, I don't know everything about everyone. Sure I can read thoughts, but that doesn't automatically mean I know everything about someone. Besides it's rather rude to not ask the person directly about themselves. I much prefer to ask even if I do already know the answer as that is how a conversation works." Cyril started clapping which made Cloi laugh.

"You got told." Cyril said to his cousin. A smile started to faintly appear on Anise's lips.

"I believe I have just gained a new respect for you." She admitted.

"Well, now that's settled I believe the bell for next lesson is about to ring. " Eisen informed. We all got up so we could go collect our things for our next lesson.

"So, what lesson do you have now?" Cloi asked as he sidled up to me. I looked on my lesson plan.

"U-um...oh, something normal, English." I said with slight surprise. Cloi chuckled.

"I guess you're with Eisen and Alexis then as that's what they have now. See you later." He jogged off to find his own class. I looked at the two quietest members of the group.

"Right this way, Lia is it?" Eisen declared placing a gentle guiding hand on my back. I nodded to tell him he had my name right. He directed me to a desk between him and Alexis for me to sit at. The lesson started and some of us were called up to write stuff on the board. When it was my turn and I had finished writing my answering sentence on the board some of the class murmured that I apparently had a spelling problem as words were spelt wrong. I double-checked what I had written and saw nothing wrong with it, everything was just fine. I started to feel worried and ashamed.

_What is the problem? I don't understand. It's happening again, everyone thinks I'm a freak._

Eisen then stood up and cleared his throat making the entire class look at him.

"In actuality everything on the board is written correctly for where Lia is from." He said.

"Lia is from England so there are certain spelling differences between there and here. Also there are certain word differences too." He informed. The rest of the class shrugged at this and I blushed in gratitude for Eisen's words before going and sitting back in my seat. I gave Eisen a peak and whispered a shy 'thank you' but he just gave me a small smile. Speaking of Eisen, he's very weird. I mean, I can't read his mind! And it never happened to me before. Well, he was about to cut me off earlier but I actually have nothing to say about his ability...he's so...so...shady...uhh...mysterious.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" he asks and I want to slap my face when I realized that I was staring at him! _Great, now he thinks I'm some creepy fangirl..._

"Ughhh great! Don't tell me you're also one of them?!" Anise did a facepalm whilst pointing to a group of girls snickering, giggling and passing around pictures.

"_GOD! He is so perfect! And ooohh, his skin is looks so smooth I want to run my hands all over him!"_

"_No shit, Sherlock! I want to jump him too!"_

"_I wonder how beautiful his face would look while in the throes of pleasure"_

"_Yeah! I want to watch him cu-"_

Okay! I cut off the connection and focused on the board where our professor was scribbling things about paranormal activity and its effect on various psychics. I am, no doubt, blushing madly.

"Well?" Anise crossed her arms, trying to clarify the situation.

"Oh my god no!" I said too loud for my own good. All heads turned towards me and instantly, I shrink back at my seat.

"Ms. Gray? Is something wrong?" the professor asked, unsure of my sudden outburst.

"No, sorry, I-uhhh"

"She was talking to me sir" Anise said. The professor raised an eyebrow and turned back to the blackboard.

"Okay, I think I respect you now" Anise grinned at me.

"Welcome to EPA Magnolia Gray, and I must say. Want to go shopping with me on Saturday? We could have a pretty girls day." She gave me an evil smirk and I gulped. Her inner thoughts were: _YOU'RE GOING TO BE MY LIVING BARBIE FROM NOW ON!_

_A/N: YEY! I finished it! THANK YOU TREELOW955. A lot of credit goes to her for helping me complete this chapter! Wohoo~ cheers _

**COMING UP NEXT: THE LITTLE GIRL'S LULLABY**


	16. Chapter 16: The Little Gir's Lullaby

**A/N: Oh I know I tried avoiding placing A/Ns at the beginning but I just want to say sorry... Its summer vacation and I feel so lazy, every time I force myself to write I just couldn't feel the story at all. Well, one night I was writing this story since I was so inspired...heheh...and I could really feel the case that I end up getting scared as well (dummy), and when I checked the clock I was like "OH SHIT IT'S 3AM!" and Catholics believe that 3 am is the devil's hour and at that time, I was writing about the briefing hours so I was narrating the supernatural occurrences of the case, and god, I couldn't sleep.**

**Anyways, I want to thank the following people who reviewed the last chapters. Treelow955 thank you for your awesome cooperation in the last side-story *applause***

EverlastingRyo: Yes that's the point. And don't worry, you'll find out VERY SOON *dun dun dun*

xojadexo: Thank you, and I know how slow I update...sorry

Naruisawesome: Oh I tell you, Naru will be very motivated soooon hahhahaha

Adrienne Lynne: Yes its fun toying with a genius' logical mind

Mylovenaru: Hahaha, everyone is asking about this! LOL, don't worry, your mind will be at ease very soon *wink

Full Moon Mitsuki Koyama: I'm glad you found it funny...actually I was laughing while I was writing it too LOL, I guess I overdid that cleavage part, I was really unsure if I should put it or not... Oh well, what's done is done.

JingleBelleRock: Thank you, honestly I don't know if people loved that chapter oh and credits to Treelow955 :))))

Hikari Reizumi: I'm so sorry! I know that feeling, I read fanfics too. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience but I a lazy girl :(((

Treelow955: Hahahaa you're a very devoted Naru fan. I suspected someone would hate Eisen but not you though. Thanks for everything by the way :))))))

mudshake: I know, I just don't know where to put them! Lol, im really thinking hard when to insert them in this case, thank you for noticing it. I would never suspect it otherwise if not for your review.

scratchart123, and guest: thank you as well!

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A ****LOT**** OF SWEARING.**

**Chapter 16: the Little Girl's Lullaby**

_Lacrimosa..._

A white room

With no windows

_dies...illa..._

Three men in white

Entered

And strapped me to the bed

Please, not the syringe.

_Qua...resurget... _

They took a big metal syringe

No...

No...

_ex favilla..._

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHH"

"Mai!" I saw Naru hovering above me. He's in his midnight blue pj's. The lights were dim, slightly illuminating the cream-colored comforters. My breathing was ragged, my heartbeat was fast, it was like I had just finished running a marathon. My sweat is cold and all I can do is cling to Naru's clothing like it was lifeline. His steady heartbeat calms me down his hand gently rubbing the small of back, slowly bringing me out of the numbness that I feel.

"Okay now?" he wipes the tears from my eyes that I haven't even noticed. I slowly nodded, grateful he was here when I had that _nightmare._

"Taniyama-san" Lin handed me a cup of steaming earl grey. _Looks like I woke him up too_

"Sorry for disturbing your sleep..." I said playing with the fabric of the comforter.

"It's okay Mai-san, your nightmares are one of the reasons why your with us now" Lin gave me a small smile and exchanged a look with Naru.

"Well, I'll be going back to sleep now. Goodnight" he said politely and left the area, locking the door in the process. Naru and I were silent, he just looked at me while I never dared to meet his eyes. With the shade of my face now, he can probably guess that I'm feeling awkward hugging my boss like my life depended on it and probably, PROBABLY, he's being considerate right now respecting the awkward silence. I felt a warm hand on my shoulder causing me to jerk slightly and break my eye-contact with the fabric and meet his dark blue eyes.

"Are scared to go back to sleep?" Coincidentally, that's what I'm feeling now so I meekly nodded my head in response. Gently, he lowered me back to the bed and tucked the comforter to keep me warm.

"Don't worry, I'll wake you up if you show signs of having nightmares again Mai. If you don't sleep now, we'll definitely be late tomorrow." He smirked.

I smiled and snuggled closer to him. _Typical Naru...just the way I like him._

I felt his body tense upon the sudden contact but I was about to pull away, he snaked his arms around my waist and rest his head on top of mine. The monotonous rise and fall of his chest lulls me to sleep.

"Sweet dreams Mai"

* * *

"Oliver, I see you've made it" Martin ushered us inside the mansion. All I could do was gap at how big this place is. _Well duh, that's why it's called mansion in the first place stupid!_ My evil subconscious said conspicuously. The house is designed like a western-modern mansion.

The porch has two big inviting double-doors made of narra carved in exquisite gothic designs with golden doorknobs. The walls were cream colored and there's this huge chandelier that you see when you first step inside, the living room is layered with red carpet, flesh-colored leather couches on three sides of the marble table at the center and a huge flat screen TV attached to the wall. Beneath the TV is a long burgundy table where the DVD set is placed and stacks of DVD's arranged in a long line. The walls were actually glass and it gave us a clear view of the garden located outside of the balcony. Outside, the glass windows were pretty big as well, probably taking almost half of the wall. Considering it's still daytime, the view is very pretty, but I shuddered to think of the view it might give at night.

Martin gestured us to sit on the left side of the table where extra chairs are present unluckily, I was sandwiched between Ayako and Bou-san who seemed to be competing for my arm. Their excuse was: "You've been spending too much time with Naru that you're starting to catch his anti-social virus and that you're hanging out with the others anymore". Naru and Lin took the extra chairs next to the couch, Yasu couldn't make it since he had an emergency with the student council. John-san and Masako will arrive later since they are currently occupied with something else. EPA seated across from our area and comfortable while the couch next to us was occupied by four unknown adults which I presume is from BPR. They look very professional in their black slacks, tailored jackets and expensive ties.

"Now that we've all gathered, let's begin with introductions." Martin started.

"The group in my right are Intern Students from Esper Psychic Academy the one in charge of EPA is Eisen Klein his members are : Cloi Alexanderz, Alexis Schyler, Angelica Midgard, Magnolia Gray, Cyril Cloi Sinclair and Anise Sinclair." On cue, Eisen slightly bowed his head to acknowledge his presence.

"To my Right is the Japanese Branch of SPR lead by Oliver Davis and his members: Kujou Lin, Ayako Matsuzaki, Mai Taniyama and Houshou Takigawa." Naru however remained Impassive. He simply stared at the other group with no particular expression...

"And these people are one of the teams assigned for this case when Mr. Maxwell proposed the case in England" A black-haired guy that looks like one of those presidential bodyguards stood up.

"Taylor Smith" was his curt introduction. He was followed by a tall blonde haired man with green eyes in his late 20's. "Jose Maria Alejandro Belleza Jr. Sorry, I know my name can be crazy. Just call me Jose" he smiled. A woman with short strawberry-blonde hair stood up next. "Ella Williams" she smiled. Lastly a man with red spiky hair with many piercing on his ears smirked. "Hey! I know our time to get to know each other is inadequate but nevertheless, im looking forward to working with all of you. The name's Kyle Sanders by the way. He said with a wink which I think is meant for all the girls present this very moment. The eye-roll that kyouya made is clearly evident and I stifled a laugh.

"Now that we're a little acquainted, I would like to introduce to you Mr. Luke Evans, the Maxwell family's head of security. He will brief us as to what had transpired during the past few months as well as answer questions if there's any." Martin said, and then took a seat in the love seat next to EPA. Mr. Luke nodded and took it as a cue to start the briefing.

"Let me start from the beginning, Mr. Maxwell bought this piece of land three years ago. At that time, this was once an abandoned building. Mrs. Maxwell loved it and didn't want it to be demolished so Mr. Maxwell only had it renovated into the building that it is today. The caretaker had been in charge of this land for 15 years after his father died. As to the history of the land, it is still being investigated. I am with the Maxwell's during their stay here and I couldn't even comprehend to the situation." He sighed

"The first night, I was running through a security check when I heard knocking noises. I had the other security on alert and find out the source of that noise but we could never pinpoint the location. I heard Mr. Maxwell calling me so I entered the living room, he asked me if I heard scratching noises, but I shook my head, instead I told him about the knocking noises. It could have been our imagination since we were still jetlagged and stressed out but I upped security just in case. In the middle of the night Mrs. Maxwell screamed and claimed that there was a little girl inside the their bedroom, we looked for the intruder for hours looking into every hiding spot that could be seen in the house but we couldn't find any girl."

"The next day, I checked the CCTV cameras and was shocked myself, there was this little girl that was watching Mrs. Maxwell sleep at around 11:56 pm she was wearing a white dirty hospital gown and is holding a torn up teddy bear. As to how she got there, I still don't know but she came from the bathroom. When Mrs. Maxwell woke up the little girl ran out of the room, I tried to follow her but she didn't appear on the camera after the hallway, it was like, she disappeared into thin air. The next couple of days turned from bad to worse." He rubbed his forehead.

"The security on night duty frequently reports about panting noises and ragged breathing at night. He doubted it was from people doing...uhh...a certain activity since it's usually accompanied with scratching noises or voices saying: "Let me out" or "Please believe in me". As to the gender of the voice, it comes in varieties from the past week of experience. One of the housekeepers also complain about a certain sticky substance which we assume to be saliva. One night when we believed this activity is paranormal, we tried to get a sample of that substance and have it scanned to see if it matches someone's DNA. Unfortunately as eerie it appears, it seems to disappear eerily as well. The worst scenario that led Mr. Maxwell to leave the mansion was last Friday. I was my office watching the CCTV feeds with the other security. It was eleven o'clock and we heard a scream in the master's bedroom. When I got there, Mr. Maxwell was holding his shaken wife and was staring disbelieving at the walls of the bathroom." He handed us a picture of the bathroom and I gasped when I saw red stains on the well etched _Why mommy?_

"Right then and there, Mr. Maxwell ordered us to ready the private jet and leave for England but as I was about to exit the room. We heard a voice of a little girl singing in Latin. When she finished singing we were shocked to find the same little girl holding a battered teddy bear materialize in front of Mrs. Maxwell only this time she has blood all over her. One of the security fired out of impulse. The little girl shifted her direction towards the security then back at Mrs. Maxwell and said: "Why mommy?" then she screamed real loud causing the building to shake while she faded. After that we were shocked to see the security that fired his gun dead on the floor. We don't know how it happened but the cause of his death was multiple veins in his body exploded. His Aorta was also in shreds but there wasn't a single external wound in his body." Involuntarily, my body shivered. I closed my eyes, it seems harder to breath even more in this room.

"Mai are you okay?" Ayako asked, worry etched on her face. I tried to reply but it came out as a choked sob. My breathing starts to get rapid and everybody has their attention to me. They all start to ask me what's wrong but I couldn't talk.

"Mai-chan said she's having a hard time breathing and that the room feels heavy." Lia said. _Thank god for telepathically gifted people! _

"Heavy?" Cyril asked.

"Ok people try not to cramp around her, you're stealing her oxygen" Ayako said immediately shooing the people aside letting me lie down the couch with my head on bou-san's lap. Bou-san gently caresses my hair while Ayako is screaming for a paper bag. But I had my eyes closed the entire time feeling like a ton of steel is slowly crushing me to death. I heard another muffle of voices but not in my direction. Then I heard somebody mentioned Masako. I heard a whistle then the air started to feel lighter. When I opened my eyes a stray tear fell and I could feel myself shaking. On the couch opposite to me Masako's hard pants and sobs could be heard. Ayako is right next to her whispering comforting words and I feel bad. It was a very scary experience for me but Masako must be experiencing it in a whole new level. Alexis handed her a piece of paper and instantly, she calmed down.

"This place isn't an ordinary haunted ground. I could feel spirits from outside of the mansion as well, but when I entered the building I instantly wanted to run away. I have never felt such fear before, I almost wanted to go home but I know my conscience couldn't take it. It will probably haunt me every night as well, so might as well get over it" she rubbed her hands together to create some friction. I know also so well she's trying to calm those goose bumps all over her body.

"There's something odd about some other spirits that I could not actually pinpoint. Other spirits are just freely roaming around, others emit an unpleasant aura, other spirit feel very...active... but there's one spirit that doesn't fit into any of them...she feels...heavy..." Masako released a deep breath

"I'm assuming the spirit of the little girl is our main ghost but I'm not sure that once we settle her spirit the place would be cleansed. There isn't a strong connection with her and the other ghosts." She continued.

"So are you saying we have to exorcise each one of them?!" Cyril asked incredulously

"That's the worst possible case scenario" Masako replied. I hear the others groan.

"Okay, now I take that you should know by now why I'm sending large groups for this case. Mr. Evans and a number of security will remain here until the case is solved also the base will be Mr. Evan's office and Mr. Maxwell has granted us permission to access the live security feeds, the CCTV camera's are equipped with night vision and motion detectors which is a big help in the investigation. I have also negotiated with Mr. Maxwell to have the camera's ready to be installed with thermal projectors so that it would easily connect with the monitors. That way, it would reduce the risk of the investigators since you won't have to check the temperatures in this mansion repeatedly." Martin winked at me and I couldn't hold back the sigh of relief escape from my mouth. Bou-san laughed at my reaction and I blushed.

"Yep, very helpful Mr. Davis, it keeps a certain danger-magnet at bay" he smirked and I slapped his arm.

"Humph, that won't stop Mai from getting into trouble though, good think I reloaded my first aid kit." Ayako crossed her arms and I did a fake pout.

"Guys, you're making a bad impression of me..." I directed them to the new BPR employees watching us banter with amusement in their eyes, especially that Kyle guy.

"And besides, it's not like I'm flashing a sign 'danger-prone, come attack me now' on top of my head at my own free will!" I argued.

"Don't worry, it's a gift" Ella said causing a fit of giggles to erupt.

"Says the one who relates" Jose added earning a playful punch from Ella.

"Uhh, I hate to kill the mood but does anybody know how to cook?" Mr. Evans says

* * *

"Uhhh, I suck at this!" Anise growled and slammed the knife in the chopping board. She's been trying to slice bell peppers and she's been doing it for nearly 30 minutes already. On the chopping board are two unsuccessfully chopped bell peppers.

"Don't blame her guys, she can't even cook edible sunny side-ups. I swear she either gets the kitchen look like some raw egg paradise or she like, makes the world's first crunchy omelettes." Cyril makes gagging expressions that made Anise to roll her eyes.

"Well, since I couldn't crack an egg properly without having half of its eggshell drop into the frying pan, I might as well throw the egg into the pan, smashing it into pieces and cook. It's much less of a hassle" she sat into one of the high chairs on the bar table.

"Eeeewww, so you mean I've been eating eggshells for breakfast for almost 2 years!" Cyril blanched.

"It's rich in calcium my dear cousin" she smirks "And what's with this housekeeping skills= girls notion?"

"I totally agree with you" there, a very sulky Ella replied holding the lid of the frying pan as a shield whilst maintaining a 2 meter distance from the frying pan.

"Hey, I found some lettuce on the- FUCK! Ella that's the third time you burnt the fucking fish! I swear if you keep turning the fucking food into charcoal then lunch will be served by midnight." A distraught Jose came from hunting food in the storage room. We all laughed at his comment. Jose, Cyril and Lin are the only guys in the kitchen. After Mr. Evans asked that questions, Cyril offered to help as well as Jose, the girls were all put into task though but Lin...Martin actually ordered Lin to cook saying something about his delicious Chinese dish that he had always been cooking back at the Davis mansion and I swear it was the first time I saw Lin glare at his superior. I mean Naru could be very stuck-up most of the time, and Lin might give him stern glances but GLARE...no

"What the fuck Lia?! This is so deli-fucking-licious! What kind of human are you with special powers to make such a heaven sent mocha cake?" Ella suddenly outbursts holding a spoon looking like she's at cloud nine.

"Hey, stop the cussing! There are children in this room" Jose chastised her

"Fuck the kids..." was all her reply causing us to laugh and José to groan

"Seriously, you're not born to be mother...I really don't know how our future children be raised" he rolls his eyes

"Wait! Cut! What's with the 'future children' are you guys engaged or something?" Anise cuts in

"yep, I'm the future husband with housekeeping skills"

"And I'm the future wife with terrible housekeeping skills" Ella took another bite of Lia's mocha cake and again looked like she's in seventh heaven

"Seriously I should bring you home! Or better yet, trade you for his ass over there" Ella laughs.

"You have a very dirty mouth Ms. Williams" José scolds her

"Oh I can show you what I can do with this dirty mouth Mr. Belleza" she smirks and Lia and I blushed while Masako covered her face with her sleeve.

"Too much information Ella..." Anise rolled her eyes. And we all laugh, even Lin chuckled.

"Awww, don't worry baby, nobody will probably want your ass besides me anyway" right then a pillow made way to Ella's face.

"Eeeeww, seriously, stop that!" Anise made gagging noises. And after a short while, we al became silent excepts Lin's expert chopping skills echoed through the kitchen until Ayako decided to break it anyway.

"So Lin, you're the typical housewife guy huh?"

"Oooh, that's seriously my type. Right babe?" she winked at José "you must have a serious passion for cooking or your girlfriend must be as bad at housekeeping as me" at that statement Lin paused causing time to stop as silence fell upon the kitchen. He turned to face us and said:

"Probably the latter Ms. Williams" he smirked

* * *

¬Somewhere in England

"Achoooooooo!"

"Madoka, you okay in there?" Tiffany, Madoka's PA knocked on her office first then bringing tea for her boss.

"I'm fine Fanny, but I guess someone's backstabbing me about my housekeeping skills" Madoka said wiping her nose.

"How do you know it's about housekeeping?" Tiffany asked amused

"That's the only thing enough to hate about me"

* * *

_After lunch..._

"UGH, I'm stuffed! Lia is a very good cook." I let myself fall onto the king sized bed that I, Masako and Ayako will be sleeping in. Mr. Evans actually offered to have more beds in the room but Naru said: "No, its better if the three of them stick together like a can of sardines. Ayako, make sure Mai sleeps in the middle. That idiot can't even notice she's being pulled by the ghost unless she's in the hallway already."

"Mai, don't sleep! We have to unpack idiot" Masako murmured.

"I know, but you didn't have to call me an idiot" I grumbled. I grabbed my bag and started placing my clothes in the closet and hanged some of the dresses and blouses.

"Mai" Masako called

"Hmmmm..."

"Are you in love with Eisen?" on cue, I started blushing like a madman.

"WHAT! No...no...no..." I denied profusely crossing my arms together making an X sign.

"I saw you two dining together with a child the other night...is he yours?" she grinned. _Oh, she's teasing me..._

"Don't get started with me young lady, sometimes I catch you and john secretly holding hands during cases. Good thing John quit priesthood." I crossed my arms and she blushed.

"Well then why can't you two take your eyes off each other today!" she exclaimed

"wha-elaborate!"

"Well, I keep catching you steal glances at each other!" I blushed, it's not a complete lie though. I just felt drawn to him...

_Se-..._

_It's _ay, I wi_ _ays be _ _ur __

_Drip_

_Drip_

_Drip_

_Shhhhhhh, it's okay honey it will all be over soon..._

_Drip_

_Drip_

_Drip_

Its pitch black...

"Wha-what's going on...Masako? Where are you?"

"Gene? Guys? Please don't leave me I'm scared..." I fall down and hugged my knees close to my chest. What's going on, I was talking to Masako earlier...and then I heard voices and dripping noises but it's not clear. My heart feels like it would erupt in my chest, my breathing is ragged, like I'm running out of oxygen. I couldn't make out even my own body, it was dark and silent. I tried feeling my surroundings then I felt something wet in my hand. My heart rate skyrocket even more. I held my hand close to my face in attempt to smell it but I couldn't make out any scent...so I tried tasting it...just a little. And I regretted it.

_It was blood_

"_Naru, where are you... I'm scared, save me..."_

Mai...

Mai...

Mai...

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

_Mai..._

_Mai..._

_Mai.._

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

"Stop! PLEASE!" I sobbed hard

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through_

"NARUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

_I don't…love you…..experience the pain that I went through...Mai._

_Lacrimosa dies illa, qua resurget ex favilla. Judicandus homo reus, huic ergo paruche dues. Pie Jesu domine..._

_Pie Jesu domine..._

I looked up, then screamed.


End file.
